Pure Chance
by lil' white Raven
Summary: AU. When Kurogane saves mage, Fai, his life takes an interesting turn. Meanwhile, Prince Syaoran is accused of murder and is forced to flee his country and encounters a beast-girl by the name of Sakura. Full summary inside. Fai/Kuro/Tomo Syao/Saku more
1. Prologue 7 years before story begins

**Pure Chance?**

_Summary:_

_When Kurogane, Tomoyo__-hime__'s bodyguard (on vacation), saves Fai (a practicing mage) from thugs while patrolling the city, both are forced to flee the country by unknown enemies. Prince Syaoran is imprisoned after being framed for WitchQueenYuko's death. He escapes and befriends Sakura and Mokona of the beast tribe. Who is after our heroes? Is Yuko really dead? What is the powersource? And why are their pursuers after Fai's corpse?! Fai/Kuro/Tomo, Saku/Syao +more Fantasy/Romance/Adventure (note: Dark themes later on)_

_...................................................................................................................................................................._

_Prologue. (About 7 years before the events of the main story line)_

The sun struggled to rise over the edge of the horizon, as an old man stood in the doorway of his shop and sighed. Hours would pass before any customers came, but for some reason he had woken early. He tapped his foot slowly. There must have been some reason he had woken up. He winced sightly. His bones had been aching with same dull pain they got just before something happened and his bones were rarely wrong. Something important was going to happen and he had to see it.

A sudden sound of rapid footsteps and heavy breathing began to echo through the street. A young man with golden hair bolted past, paused, then ran back and quickly pushed the old man back inside the building.

"Please, you can't go outside. If you're caught watching, they'll kill you!" The man whispered franticly as the old man stared in shock. Sapphire blue eyes glanced backwards nervously. The blonde was shaking in fear.

"You never saw me. I wasn't here. Don't go out until the sun rises, Ok?" He ordered as he jumped back, closed the door and ran off. The old man sat frozen beside the door as loud, stomping sounds boomed past. Then everything, aside of the man's slow breathing, fell silent.

A few moments later, the old man quietly walked up the staircase to the shop's second floor and cautiously glanced down at the street from behind a curtain.

The street was silent. Only the mist moved. It all seemed so normal.

He edged away from the window and sat by a wooden desk. He then grabbed a quill and began to write. Somebody had to be told about what had just happened. Somebody who would know what it meant and what to do about it.

The old man placed the letter in an envelope and sealed it with a stamp of hot wax. He then went back downstairs and made himself a cup of tea.

His granddaughter would know. The Sight would tell her what to do. He stared at the tea longingly. Maybe it was time to visit them; to see how they were doing. Yes, he would do that. But first; the letter.

Hours later, the old man dropped off the letter at the post office; went home and began to pack his bags. It was time to see his granddaughter again.

To see Nadeshiko.

...................................................................................................................................

Fai swallowed down a gasp of panic. He had lost a lot of ground when he'd stopped to help that old man. He sighed mentally. He should have just ignored the man and left him to his own fate.

But he couldn't just leave someone to die. Not when it would have been his fault.

Heavy footsteps seemed to echo from all around him. Fai glanced back and felt himself turn pale.

Dark, faceless soldiers followed only a few metres behind. Despite taking slow, heavy steps, the soldiers moved remarkably fast. More seemed to materialise out of the mist behind him.

"It's useless to try and run, Fai-san."A cold amused sounding voice called out from behind him.

Fai looked around for an escape route. There! A side-alley! He leapt over a fence and ran towards it, as soldiers continued to appear out of the mist.

"Kusanagi-san, Hikaru-san and Kazuki-chan have already been caught, and it's only a matter of time before Nataku-san returns to Kazuki's side."

Fai tried to ignore the man's voice as he ducked into the alleyway. The man seeing Fai's reaction smiled dryly and continued.

"If you continue to run, you know they'll force me to hurt you again. It might even be worse than the last time." Fai flinched, and ran faster.

"What do you hope to achieve by doing this? There's nothing out there for the likes of us. You're only delaying the inevitable this way."

'It's better than doing what you people want.' Thought Fai angrily.

He took another glance back. Even in the narrow alley, soldiers still managed to follow him.'Damn,'thought Fai wearily. 'Too many to try to fight, plus 'him' back there.' A screech from above interrupted his thoughts.

Fai groaned. 'They brought onibirds too?! Well...there goes the roof escape...'

The alley suddenly ended and Fai found himself running though an empty plaza. Fai felt a drop of sweat trickle down the back of his neck.

The only path that didn't lead back towards the tower was across the bridge. The bridge that had no cover from the air; that had railings only a metre tall, and had the chance of falling from a 300foot drop onto the jagged rocks below.

Unfortunately, it was also the only choice if he wanted to escape. Heart pounding, Fai ran towards it. Onibirds screeched in triumph as Fai ran out from under the protection of the plaza's sunshades. He ducked swiftly as the birds lashed down at him with their scythe-like talons.

'I have to get to the city gates. Past there, the powersource can't reach...'

A sudden slash of pain across his back made Fai gasp and drop to the ground. Blood splattered behind him. Weakly, he pulled himself to his knees. Fai tried not to scream in agony as the onibird's claw-poison surged through his veins.

The birds screeched again as a loud whistle cut through the air. Fai turned. The man's midnight-blue eyes regarded him coldly.

"I told you that you were only delaying the inevitable. If you had just given up earlier, you wouldn't have suffered so much. You're lucky I thought to call the birds back before they could give you any more damage."

Fai looked around. Soldiers blocked both sides of the bridge, while onibirds flew above then. Fai slowly got to his feet and smiled cheerfully.

"Sorry, Kyle-sensei, but it seemed worth it at the time."

Kyle suddenly lunged towards the blonde. Fai, who knew this coming, dodged sideways and ran to the bridge railing. He glanced back over the edge and felt his stomach churn. 'Was it hopeless after all?'

Kyle looked at the blonde's uneasy face and laughed. His eyes narrowed.

"You're not going to jump. After all, you didn't get killed back at the G9-lab, now did you...Yuui?"

Fai flinched as if he'd been punched; his eyes filled with shock.

"Did you really think we didn't realise that you took your brother's place? Oh well, it doesn't really matter which one of you we used. After all, both of you were genetically identical. Though," Kyle added with a thin smile," it does seem a bit cruel to sacrifice his life to save yours. You even went so far as to take his name. Tell me, did you even tell him he was going to die?"

Fai's voice was soft. "I didn't know." Kyle looked at him sceptically."You didn't? I find that hard to believe."

The blonde smiled sadly. "He insisted that we should trade spots for a while. It was meant to be a game. A game only we could play..."Fai choked back a sob of grief.

Kyle sighed and looked at him sympathetically. "Even if it was a game, it still resulted in his death." Fai looked away.

After a few moments of silence, Kyle continued, his voice was soft. "Do you still have that dream of yours? The one that you both came up with?"

Fai looked up startled. "How do you know about that?!"

Kyle smiled wryly. "You'd be surprised what you can learn by just keeping your ears open. I simply overheard you two talking and decided to listen in." He raised his hands defensively as Fai stared in shock.

"Don't worry, I didn't tell a soul what I heard. After all, I didn't need to. It was simply a fairytale two children told each other, to help get to sleep at night. It was hardly a threat." Kyle snorted in amusement as Fai's face flushed red.

"You really thought it was possible, didn't you? For humans to sympathise with our kind?" Kyle looked at Fai in stunned disbelief. "Even Kamui-kun would know better that to try something like that. Was that how you convinced the others to escape? All of that work...for a child's bed-time story?! What a waste of effort! The humans have hated our kind since the dawn of creation. They're not going to stop just because you ask them nicely."

Kyle grinned in triumph then took a step backwards as he glanced at the blonde's face. Fai glared at the older man with pure hatred. He then jumped backwards onto the bridge's thin, stone railings. Fai felt cold as wind buffeted against him. Kyle's face was filled with horror.

"You can't be serious! Not even a pureblood can survive a fall from this height! You don't really want to die, do you?!"

Kyle's blood froze as Fai began to grin manically.

"Do I want to die? I don't know. Not really. It sounds sort of painful. But it might be fun out here. If I fall, I'll fly like a bird before I crash. See?"

Fai lent backwards towards the edge and listened as Kyle groaned. His smile grew wider.

"I'll never be used as a play-thing or as a lab-rat again. Freedom by death, or return to the tower! Death doesn't seem that bad, does it?"

The onibirds and the dark soldiers milled about in confusion, while their master stared at the blonde in horror. Fai, though still smiling outwardly; was shocked at how much he'd really meant it. Death was better than going back.

Kyle made a desperate attempt to reason with the madman.

"This is not a joke, Fai-san. You don't have the wings and even if you did it's impossible to summon them inside the city. If you fall here, you die."

"I know." Fai's face was eerily calm. Inside, he wondered if he looked as scared as he felt. He glanced over the edge. 'Yep. Definitely scary.' He sighed. Not that he had much choice.

He turned to Kyle and smiled gently. "Goodbye, Kyle-sensei."

He stepped over the edge and felt his mind go blank as air rushed around him.

........... . . . .

So he was going to float freely and painlessly through the air; until he came to a very fatal and sudden stop on the ground below.

It could have been worse.

He could have died from pain after the tower guards had finished punishing him. Or been killed in an experiment like the real Fai had.

What was there to live for anyway? Goals? People who would miss him? He didn't have any ambitions, and who would care if he died.

He had nothing to live for.

...Except for the dream_._

To make friends with humans. People who would like him for who he was, despite the fact he wasn't human.

Fai smiled sadly. A childhood dream that he and Fai had invented, to stop the loneliness of being taken from their mother and placed in the tower by the village's humans. It was simple and unrealistic, but it was something they wished for, with all of their hearts.

He still wanted it. He still wanted that dream to come true. It had to.

Fai forced his eyes open. The ground rushed up towards him. He had a few seconds before he hit the ground; he couldn't afford to waste them.

"I won't die! I have to love someone before I die!"Fai shouted as he stretched his arms out wide. "Please," Fai whispered pleadingly, "Please let me summon my wings. Just this one time. Please."

A sudden feeling of warmth spread through Fai's body. Fai quickly shut his eyes and willed his new wings to move. Instantly the sound of rushing air stopped and was replaced by the sound of slow, heavy wing-beats.

Fai opened his eyes slowly and stared. A pair of long, glowing wings held him in the air. Fai gasped; he had feathers! He glanced down. Only a hundred feet below him, jagged rocks pointed towards the sky. Fai shuddered with relief; he'd flown too close to death for comfort.

He flew up to the bridge. Kyle stared in amazement as the blonde glided past.

"Say goodbye to the others for me, Kyle-sensei!" Fai waved at him cheerfully.

Kyle suddenly snapped back to reality and ordered the onibirds to attack. The onibirds screeched as Fai quickly dropped into a dive and flew over the city gates towards the sun that had finally risen into the sky.

******************************

The onibirds and dark soldiers watched as their master grabbed a phone from his pocket. He quickly dialled in a number.

"What is it, Kyle? You were given orders not to call unless you saw a servant of the Witch." Kyle tried not to shudder at his superior's icy voice.

"I'm sorry Sir, but No. 035 has escaped over the city perimeter."

"The others managed to catch Numbers #639, #041 and #781 soon after the breakout, and #779 turned himself in a few minutes ago." The superior's tone made Kyle flinch instinctively. "How did he escape from you?!

"He summoned wings within the city, Sir."

"That is impossible. #035 is unable to call wings, even within the W.S-lab."

"But the wings that he just called were white and feathered!"

The other end of the phone was silent.

"I am well aware of the fact that him being both a pure-blood and being well within the powersource's range makes this sound unbelievable but if you need proof, just check the onibird's visual records." Kyle pleaded desperately. He gripped the phone tightly. If the superior didn't believe him...

"I shall check, but first: What direction is he heading in?" The superior's voice now seemed more curious than angry. Kyle sighed silently in relief.

"He was last seen flying over the eastern wall. Unfortunately, he was too far from the powersource for the onibirds or the ganks to follow. Should I attempt to pursue him?"

"No. It's more important to remain hidden. We cannot not allow the Witch to get wind of our plans. Besides, your report disturbs me. Fei-Wong must be informed. Return to the tower immediately!"

_Kyle bowed his head. "As you wish, Sir."_


	2. Chapter 2: Girl talk and teasing

_**Author's note:**__** I was going to write this in the last chapter but forgot to. Sorry 'bout that.**_

_**Since I'm going to be including a lot of CLAMP characters in my fic I just wanted you readers to know that at the end of each chapter, I'll have a list of all characters not from the main Tsubasa cast that show up in the fic. I'll also include the names of which manga each of the guest characters come from and maybe a little background history on them.**_

_**(This chapter I'll include the characters I missed in the last chapter)**_

_**While this fanfic is a Fai/Kuro fic, it is also a Kuro/Tomoyo fic. Kurogane doesn't choose between them. He chooses both. I know that's a little creepy but it's something I really wanted to write so yeah...If you dislike K/T please just ignore it for a while. Kurogane and Fai will meet soon but not in this chapter. Syaoran and Sakura will show up but it'll be a while...**_

_**Please review, and please send any ideas or questions you have about the fic. I do my best the answer any questions and to incorporate any requests.**_

Disclaimer: I do not own any Tsubasa characters. I'm just in love with half of them.

_**Now for the fic. Sorry. Tomoyo might be slightly OOC...**_

_**Chapter 1: Girl Talk and Teasing. (7 years after the events of prologue) **_

_Nihon Shirasaki castle. _

_"Good morning, Kurogane!" Kurogane winced as a cheerful melodious voice rang though the busy corridor and sliced into his hang-over ridden skull. The dark-haired warrior growled as the cause of his pain, Tomoyo, sister to the Empress and heir to Nihon's throne, calmly walked towards him. She smiled sweetly as he glared daggers at her._

_"Are you not feeling well, Kurogane?"_

_"You're too cheerful in the morning. Especially after last night." He snapped as he stomped past. Tomoyo chuckled as she fell into step beside him._

_"I'm surprised. Normally during such celebrations you disappear. But after that drinking contest with Shogo-san it seems like you had a lot of fun." _

_Kurogane placed a hand on his face as memories of the previous night pounded through his brain. He groaned loudly. Tomoyo, ignoring her protector's pain continued on blissfully._

_"It was very entertaining when you challenged Souma to a dance-off battle then fell onto the dinner table."_

_Kurogane groaned loudly. He had hoped she'd forgotten that bit. 'Damn sake....'_

_What was in that drink anyway? He glanced up at his princess and grunted. He wouldn't have been surprised if she was the one who spiked it. Damn princess... _

_A wolf-whistle pulled him out of his thoughts. He looked up and glared around for the perpetrator. The man in question looked startled for a moment and ran. _

_Tomoyo glanced up at him curiously. "Does that upset you when that happens?" _

_"Of course it does! Who said he could whistle at you like that? Stupid dumb-ass!" He snapped at her inwardly then felt his shoulder drop. Figures. _

_It was only natural that things like that happened. After all it was her. _

_Thick black hair was tied into an old miko style. A flowing sea-green kimono was fixed in place by a light blue obi, while a white coat wrapped around her shoulders completed the look. She was so beautiful; Kurogane could have sworn that even the nearby women were drooling. He inched closer._

_"What is upsetting you?" Kurogane jumped slightly at the sudden question. Tomoyo's amethyst coloured eyes gazed into his own blood-red ones. He sighed deeply. Hiding something from Tomoyo was like trying to jump through a wall; science says you can do it but so far no one had managed._

_"I'm worried about the trip." Kurogane growled defensively as Tomoyo smiled gently. "Normally I wouldn't care about you going somewhere on your own, but that prince Ojiro guy only wanted you and Souma to come; and that just reeks of something off. You'll be gone for half a year, and if there's going to be any fighting going on, my job says I'm the one that's supposed to protect you."_

_"Your job also tells you to protect this city, not just me." Tomoyo reminded him. "As for Ojiro-kun, the reason he only invited Souma and myself is because he knows us and he has a favour to ask." Tomoyo looked at Kurogane's worried face and chuckled, as she tried her best to reassure him._

_"I've known Ojiro-kun for a very long time. Trust me; he really isn't capable of what you're suggesting."_

_Kurogane looked at her darkly. "Do you even know what I'm suggesting?"_

_Tomoyo looked up at the bodyguard innocently. "Who was it who taught you the meanings of all those 'strange city words' and what the jokes about the lemons meant? Need I continue?" Tomoyo's voice was sweet as Kurogane's face flushed. How did she remember all this? He'd only asked her what those words meant once! And that had been more than seven years ago! _

_Tomoyo continued on blissfully._

_"Souma is coming with me so there is no reason to worry. Unless..." Tomoyo paused. Kurogane looked up, startled. Tomoyo's eyes grew wide._

_"I had forgotten about that. Even Souma would be unable to do anything. If something happened as a result, it would be awful!"_

_What had Tomoyo thought of? Was she in danger!? Kurogane's hand shot towards his sword's hilt. _

_He then paused._

_Something was wrong with this scene. Normally when she was concerned about something; instead of talking about it, she would shut herself off from the world and spend a number of minutes thinking about what she could about it. She didn't go all wide eyed and panicky._

_He narrowed his eyes._

_Her innocent face was ruined by an evil grin. _

_"My poor, poor Kurogane!" She gasped and fell back dramatically. _

_Kurogane shuddered. He just got a bad feeling..._

_"No wonder you don't want me to go. You're afraid that I'll fall in love with some other tall, brave warrior while you aren't around!" _

_His face flared. 'What did she just say?!'_

_"My Kurogane is suffering the dreadful pains of jealousy! He suffers so badly, he no longer trusts me to keep my word! Despite the fact that I love him more than my precious udon noodles!"_

_If looks could kill, Tomoyo wouldn't have had a chance in hell. Blood-red eyes glared down at the princess with murderous intent. _

_"You just compared me...to your breakfast?!"_

_Tomoyo nodded sagely. "Noodles are very precious to me."_

_........................_

_A few minutes later a group of servants rolled their eyes as the sound of an explosion echoed down the corridor. They all smiled. _

_Yes. The world was as it should be. _

_........................ _

_They had left the hallway and were now in the castle's waiting room. Tomoyo sat in a chair and tried to recover her breath. _

_Kurogane stood by a nearby window and growled. 'Tomoyo had to meet the stupid prince today! How long did it take to prepare a bloody carriage?'_

_He glared at the clock. 'And where was Souma, anyway? She was supposed to be here hours ago!_

_He glanced at the person he'd sworn his life to protect. _

_Despite all her smiles, Kurogane felt uneasy. _

_Tomoyo always teased him, but something about her current teasing seemed wrong somehow. Fake. Like a lie._

_He walked over and stood beside her. Quietly he looped his hand around hers._

_Tomoyo flushed slightly at the sudden physical contact then relaxed, as she looked into Kurogane's questioning eyes. A small smile spread across her face._

_"I was just thinking that it's going to be a long time before I see you again."_

_Tomoyo's soft voice was barely more than a whisper, but Kurogane heard the anxious tone to her voice. "I..." She paused._

_"Well what?" Kurogane felt worried. It was rare for Tomoyo to hesitate._

_'She's hiding something' he realized suddenly. His eyes widened in shock. Tomoyo was well known for her political skills and was unmatched in the world of mind-games, but she rarely kept secrets from those she cared about. _

_He bit his lip. If she was hiding something from him, it was something big._

_"I had a dream last night."_

_Kurogane tensed instantly. Few knew about Tomoyo's dream magic, but those who did knew better than to ignore them._

_"Was it about the trip?"_

_Tomoyo shook her head. "No it wasn't." She placed a hand on his shoulder. _

_"The dream was about you, Kurogane."Kurogane froze._

_Last time Tomoyo had dreamed of him, it had been about the Incident._

_"If things are to go the way I saw, you must trust in my judgement and do as I ask." The look Tomoyo gave him was frighteningly serious. 'She looks the same as she did that night,' Kurogane realised with a start._

_He nodded. No one trusted Tomoyo more than he did. If she saw something terrible in her dreams, then he would do everything he could to prevent it._

_His life was hers after all._

_Tomoyo raised her hand. "Promise me two things." Kurogane waited tensely. "First: Promise me that you won't forget me?" _

_"You're impossible to forget!" Kurogane shouted, shocked. He stared at her. How could she even consider something like that?! Forgetting Tomoyo was like forgetting the Sun or the Moon. It was impossible! _

_Tomoyo smiled, but her eyes were sad. "It's easier than you might think."_

_Kurogane gave her a defiant look. "I won't forget you. Ever. Count on it." _

_Tomoyo sighed with relief. "I'm glad." Kurogane snorted. _

_"What's the other promise?"_

_Tomoyo smiled. "Just try to remember that it's possible to have more than one true love in your life." _

_Kurogane's face flushed as his brain short-circuited. _

_What did she just say? More than one WHAT?! What kind of thing was that to tell your not-quite-boyfriend just before you left to go on a 6 month journey, to some foreign weirdo nation that was miles and miles away?! Why?_

_It was almost as if she was trying to tell him to date someone else._

_Wait a minute. . . _

_She wasn't seeing anyone else, was she?! Was it that Ojiro bastard?!_

_Kurogane twitched insanely as he picked up his sword. "That...Little...Bastard!" Kurogane pulled Ginryu from its sheath. _

_Try to date Tomoyo, would he?! Maybe he'd like a date with Ginryu here, too? A nice little trip together...straight to the next world! He grinned manically._

_Goodbye, Rage. Next Stop, Insanity!_

_Tomoyo's sudden laughter cut through Kurogane's crazy monolog. He glared at her in anger. _

_"Why didn't you tell me?! I don't care if you decide have a fling with somebody, but I'd like to know who they are first!" _

_Tomoyo's face was red with amusement. Kurogane was still yelling as Souma; who'd just entered the room stared at the insane bodyguard in shock._

_"You don't even have the decency to look guilty! I don't even know why I care so-" _

_Tomoyo, who was still trying not to burst out laughing, raised a hand to talk._

_"What is it?!" Kurogane snapped as Souma carefully edged towards the door._

_"I'm not seeing anyone." Tomoyo's voice was wickedly cheerful._

_"You're not?" (A pin dropped somewhere in the room.)_

_"Nope." _

_"But, what you said...?"_

_Tomoyo grinned at him. "It's something I thought you had to know."_

_" ??? "_

_The princess gave her (now somewhat confused) warrior a serious look._

_"Most people only fall in love once. Well, there are crushes, infatuations, and etc. But there are some people that have more than one and well, things can get rather confusing and-OHMYGOSH! We're late!" _

_Tomoyo jumped forward and glared at a stunned Kurogane and Souma._

_"Well?! Come on! We can continue this conversion in the carriage! So move!"_

_She waltzed out. Both bodyguards stared. Souma turned to face Kurogane._

_"Umm, what was all of that about?" She inquired, while pointing at the door._

_Kurogane shrugged._

_"I have no idea..."_

_***************************_

_The clacking of carriage wheels echoed through Kurogane's head. Kurogane's head hurt. It hurt a lot. After three hours of listening to Tomoyo's bizarre theories on the nature of love and romance, a conversation Kurogane had never imagined being involved in; with Tomoyo or anyone else, the warrior had a serious urge to beat himself over the head with a stick... _

_(Who on earth talks to a battle hardened warrior for his opinions on unrequited love and then wonders out loud why people who love each other argue all the time? Tomoyo does. Figures.)_

_Souma (who was confused, but found the situation extremely amusing anyway) encouraged Kurogane to answer the more embarrassing questions as well as adding a few of her own. Kurogane was just about to turn to alcohol as a last resort against this __**EVIL**__, when Tomoyo seemed to realise he couldn't take any more, and fell silent. _

_The carriage made its way towards the skyport. Kurogane glanced up at a landed blimp and groaned. A second airship sat the landing dock. Both had the royal crest of the Mihara family* embossed on the side. Kurogane growled angrily._

"_**Bloody girls and their endless talking..." "Grrrrrrrr...Bloody...Ojiro...Mihara...Bastard**__**..."**_

_Kurogane sighed. It wasn't like he didn't like Tomoyo (he __**loved**__ her, who was he trying to kid?) b__ut that had just been too much all at once. And he still didn't have any idea of what she'd been talking about. -_-_

_The carriage squeaked to a halt. The driver (who should have gotten the sack years ago. He took three bloody hours to get from one side of the city to the other! THREE! Gah! ) motioned for the passengers to wait inside. Kurogane groaned loudly. Great, more waiting.  
He glanced over at Souma. Despite her mild temperament, Souma was a reliable warrior and skilled with a variety of weapons. She was also insanely loyal to the Nihon royal family. Souma would take better care of Tomoyo than anyone else possibly could__. __But that sure as hell wasn't going to stop him from worrying about her. __**Damn it. Why couldn't he go too?**_

"_Kurogane, you can relax. Tomoyo__-hime__ can look after herself, and I'll be by her highness's side the whole time we're there." Souma tried to give Kurogane a reassuring smile. Kurogane just frowned._

"_Yeah, maybe she can and maybe you'll be there...but I'd rather be there myself."_

_Tomoyo beamed at him. "Just try to think of it as payed leave."_

_Kurogane's voice was blunt. "I don't serve you just for the cash, Tomoyo."_

_Tomoyo flushed slightly and smiled. "Thank you. But, I need____you to stay here."_

_Kurogane frowned. She hadn't mentioned this earlier. Odd. Tomoyo looked at him determinedly._

"_You____cannot____come with me, Kurogane. Please do what you think you must in order to protect the people of this country. I'm afraid to say it but this is a direct order. If you disobey, I will be forced to remove you from your post." _

_Souma and Kurogane both stared in shock. Tomoyo __never__ ordered him around! It was unheard of! _

_Tomoyo waited for his reaction in a seriousness that Kurogane had seen only twice before. The first time had been when they first met. The second time had been the time he had lost everything. Both times Tomoyo's dreams had been filled with nightmares of things to come. _

_He nodded reluctantly. If Tomoyo was ordering him around like this, it had to be bloody important. "As you wish...Tomoyo..."_

_Souma looked surprised. Kurogane following orders was almost as rare as Tomoyo issuing them. Tomoyo's sigh of relief was audible to everyone in the carriage. "Thank you, Kurogane."_

_Kurogane lowered his head. "You'd better come back safe." _

_Tomoyo nodded. "Of course. Please take care, and try to remember what I said. It's important."_

_There was a sudden knock on the carriage door. Kurogane instantly stood in front of Tomoyo protectively as a timid voice called out. _

"_Umm...I was told this was the carriage of Tomoyo Nihon Tsukiyomi?" The door opened slightly and a small blue-eyed face poked inside._

_Kurogane glared at the newcomer intensely and placed a hand on his sword. Seeing Kurogane, the newcomer, a small green-haired boy squeaked and hid behind the door. Tomoyo and Souma giggled at his reaction._

"_Hello Ojiro__-kun, __it's been a while."Tomoyo exited the carriage and walked over to the boy, who smiled in recognition. "You've grown quite a bit since I last saw you. You're even more handsome than your brother now." _

_She smiled as she stroked the shy boy on the head. Kurogane froze in shock._

'_**This was Ojiro Mihara?!'But he was barely more than 13 years old!**__ Kurogane glared at Tomoyo menacingly. Tomoyo smiled innocently. _

"_I told you what you were suggesting earlier was impossible. Besides..." Tomoyo paused for dramatic effect, "...I'm not into younger men._

_Souma tried to keep her face straight as Ojiro looked up bewildered. Tomoyo laughed as Kurogane growled in the most threatening way possible. Ojiro squeaked again, and hid from Kurogane behind Tomoyo's skirt and stared up at the swordsman, eyes wide. _

"_You did that on purpose!" Kurogane's face was bright red. _

_If Tomoyo's grin could get any wider, Kurogane was sure that her head would fall off. _

"_I'm so sorry, but you were so serious, I wanted to see your reaction when you found out."_

"_WHY YOU BLOODY-"Kurogane had just about been ready to draw his sword and teach the little '__BITCH'__ a lesson; when Ojiro leapt in front of Tomoyo. Trembling, and with knees shaking in his boots; the boy looked up determinedly into Kurogane's blood red eyes._

"_I won't let you hurt Tomoyo-neesan!"_

_There was silence for the next few minutes until Souma, who had desperately been trying to keep her cool, calm composure, couldn't take anymore and burst into fits of laughter. Instantly all of Kurogane's rage swapped targets._

"_WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE LAUGHING AT!!!?"_

_As Souma dropped to the ground laughing (the author was beginning to wonder if she remembered how to breathe;) and Kurogane closed in for the kill, Tomoyo explained to a very confused Ojiro._

"_Please don't be concerned, that's just Kurogane's way of showing people that he loves them."_

_Ojiro looked thoughtful for a moment then answered carefully as fragments of Souma's laughter and Kurogane's death threats continued to echo throughout the skyport._

"_He must love the two of you a __**LOT**__." _

_Tomoyo smiled warmly at the young prince, as chaos raged in the background. "Yes, he does."_

_*****************************************************************************************_

_**Bonus story:**____Ojiro's request._

_Ojiro sat nervously on the edge of his blue and white strapped chair as the airship lifted away from the Nihon capital. It had been his impulsive request that had convinced Tomoyo-hime to accompany him back to Mihara, and now Ojiro felt guilty about separating Onee-san from her home._

"_Ojiro? What's wrong? You look rather pale." Tomoyo's concerned voice cut into the young boy's thoughts._

_She placed her hand over his. "Feeling guilty about asking for help?"_

_Instantly Ojiro felt his face flush._

"_I'm sorry Tomoyo-neesan. I know in those letters, you said I could ask any time but was it really Ok? Your boyfriend looked really sad when we left."_

_Souma went bright red as Tomoyo smiled at him sweetly. "He's not really my boyfriend. At least he might not be by the time I get back."_

_Ojiro frowned as Tomoyo whispered the last bit._

"_Are you SURE it's all right? If you want Wizard can turn this around and go back."_

_Tomoyo laughed and patted him on the head._

"_Thank you Ojiro. But trust me; your request is far more important. After all," Tomoyo grinned evilly "It's for that girl you like so much, isn't it."_

_Ojiro went bright red. _

"_How did you know!?! I haven't even told Onii-sama about that yet!!"_

_Tomoyo and Souma just smiled._

"_The same way I know everything. I dreamt it." Tomoyo grinned with excitement. "So when's the wedding? What does her dress look like? Can I make it? You have to tell me everything."_

_Ojiro looked away from the hyperactive princess and lowered his head._

"_Actually I wanted to ask you and Souma-san to help me tell her...about how I feel."_

_If anything Tomoyo only looked more excited. "Really? Truly? You don't mind us watching you the whole time?"_

_Ojiro edged away, eyes wide. "What do you mean 'watching'? I just want help telling her-"_

"_We'll get to see Ojiro-kun's very First KISS! And his very first DATE! Oh my Gosh! Will we get to see the honeymoon too?! That's why we were invited to stay so long. You are so adorable!"_

"_What honeymoon?! I haven't even-"_

"_Yours, of course. Please don't worry. I just know Misaki will feel the same. You two will look so cute together in the outfits I'll make! Which do you prefer? Pink or Blue?"_

_***********************_

_As the airship drifted off into the distance, the one thing Ojiro knew for certain; was that with Tomoyo around, Misaki was sure be really well dressed._

_**Character lists.**_

**Prologue. **

The old man_: Actually Sakura's great grandfather from CardCaptorSakura. I put him in the story because I really like him and I like the idea of Sakura having a gram-pa around. I don't know his name. If anyone knows what it is, please tell me._

Kusanagi Shiyū: _Kusanagi is from X/1999 and was a dragon of earth meant to destroy humanity. But the poor guy is far too nice for that kind of job so I put him in this. Kusanagi is big, friendly and easy-going so I'll be bring him back into the story after Fai's past is revealed. (This is going to take a while, believe me.) In Tsubasa, he appears in both the country of Oto and in Acid Tokyo._

Nataku Tojyo:_ Also from X/1999 and also a dragon of earth. Nataku was originally a clone of Kazuki Tojyo (where I got the last name from). In this story the two are siblings. He is almost as short as Syaoran and twice as shy. I can really see him, Ryuoh and Syaoran being best-friends. In Tsubasa he appears in Acid Tokyo._

Kazuki Tojyo: _X/1999 is the person that Nataku was cloned from. Kazuki is actually a girl (I didn't know that until I searched Wikipedia). In this story Nataku is Kazuki's protective older brother. In Tsubasa Kazuki appears in Acid Tokyo along with Nataku._

Hikaru: _The battle doll of Misaki Suzuhara from Angelic Layer. Not the Hikaru from MagicKnightsRayearth. (I will do her too. I promise.) I added Hikaru because I have a future story in mind (set in the same world as this fic) for Angelic Layer. In Tsubasa, she appears in the world of Infinity and fights against Syaoran. _

**Chapter 1.**

Ojiro Mihara: _Another one from Angelic Layer. Ojiro is about the only male character seen in the __**whole**__ thing actually playing the game. He's around 17 years old in Angelic Layer but in the anime they show a scene of him when he was 10 years old. So I wanted to make him about 13. In Tsubasa he appears once in the country of Oto in the background of one of the cafe scenes, and in the Dragonfly race in the country of Piffle (he was one of the contestants who made it to the finals)._

**Bonus Chapter.**

Misaki Suzuhara: _The main character of Angelic Layer. Is cute, innocent and very short for her age. In the Angelic Layer anime she has a huge crush on Ojiro. I will have her in the fic later but not now. She appears in Tsubasa only once in Oto; a background scene at the Cat's eye cafe with Ojiro next to her. _XD _I'm a huge Misaki fan._

Wizard: _Ojiro's angel in Angelic Layer. Looks awesome dancing next to Hikaru. Never appears in Tsubasa. _


	3. Chapter 3: Meeting

**Author's note:**** Wow. Chapter 2 already, huh? Thanks again to the wonderful people who reviewed. I hope I will continue to be worthy of your time. Thanks to ****cuenta**** for being kind enough to point out my mistakes and to ****flamingpurplebunnies**** for her encouraging words. Arigato!**

**Sorry in advance if any of the characters are ooc, but different world, different life, right?**

**I'm finally reintroducing Fai, but in order for Kurogane to be the hero someone must be a victim and Fai has bad luck. (I am so sorry, Fai!!!) **

**When I first came up with the idea of this fanfic and thought of this scene, I was seriously considering rating this fic M. My friend told me it wouldn't matter and convinced me not to but...you have been warned... **

**Syaoran and Sakura will be introduced in the next chapter so please Saku/Syao fans, please wait a little longer.**

**I also want to thank people such as ****BlackSakura27**** and ****applesyche**** who have helped me with ideas. I might be a little slow at updating chapters, but I'll try to make them all worth the wait.**

**Sorry about this but due to Fai's past I thought that the idea of needles or piercings anywhere near him would scare him witless. Sorry if you're a fan of that kind of thing. **

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or storylines from Tsubasa. CLAMP owns them. I just really wish I did. Now on with the fic!

_**Chapter 2: Meeting.**_

_Nihon Shirasaki City (a.k.a Kyoto)_

"_Please take care of yourself, Kurogane." Tomoyo yelled cheerfully as the blimp lifted off the ground. From behind her, Souma and Ojiro waved.  
Kurogane snorted. As if he would wave to her!  
Tomoyo seeing his reaction beamed and continued to call from the window. _

"_And I apologise for all the teasing. I thought I had better do the next six month's worth now rather than when I got back. I hope you didn't mind it too much!" The little prince behind her giggled._

"_The next six month's worth?! Wait?! How long____have you been planning this____Tomoyo!?!" Kurogane roared as calls of laughter and good-byes drifted down from the already soaring airship. _

_As the farewells faded and disappeared, Kurogane felt a strong pain strike through his chest.  
"Stupid, getting worked up over something like this." He muttered as the airship flew out of sight. _

_****************_

_Kurogane's footsteps echoed among many others as he made his way through Nihon's streets. Ancient cobble stones formed the roads, while beautiful wooden framed buildings lined either side of the streets. The city's market, a huge plaza in the centre of town was filled with energy. Performers entertained passers-by with their skills while merchants and customers haggled over the prices of goods. Even from here, Shirasaki castle was clearly visible above nearby buildings. The castle's green roof and red support-beams gave the castle a strange temple-like look. _

_Kurogane sat by the side of the city fountain (made in the design of Tomoyo's sister Atamatsu), and chewed thoughtfully on some takoyaki he had bought from a nearby street vender. __(__-.-__Takoyaki... yum...)_

_Crap. Of all the things Kurogane had thought of since coming to Kyoto and becoming Tomoyo's bodyguard, being on vacation had never been one of them.  
He growled loudly. Of course it hadn't. The idea that Tomoyo would order him to stay behind while she went off to some weird northern kingdom would never have occurred to him. Not after the 'incident'. _

_He sighed as the reality of the situation began to sink in. Six months, without anyone to protect. What was he going to do for all that time?  
He wondered absently if he should start patrolling the streets as one of the city guards like that Shogo guy. Or maybe try to apply for some stupid part-time job. _

_He shook his head empty of dumb thoughts and stared up at the sky. It didn't matter what he thought. Tomoyo__-hime __had trusted him to 'protect' Nihon in her absence. Whatever she meant, he would be sure to do it._

_He stood up, stretched, then stomped towards the castle. He would go back and think about it for a while. There had to be something he could do. Being a regular soldier couldn't be that bad. At least it wouldn't if Atamatsu didn't show up..._

_The sound of commotion ahead caught the gruff warrior's attention. A few metres ahead a group of people milled about in confusion, blocking the road. Kurogane pushed his way through and looked over the top of the crowd. Two merchants stood arguing in the middle of the road as a number of other people helped pick up fallen fruit from an overturned cart. Kurogane groaned. Fate just __**loved**__ to throw crap in his face._

_Growling he turned and walked down a side-path that he hoped might lead back towards the castle. "Wonder if the city could use a reduction in merchants?" Kurogane muttered under his breath. _

_The alleyway was dark and narrow, and after a number of twists and turns, Kurogane got the sinking feeling he was lost (an extremely embarrassing event when you've lived in the place for more than half your life). A sudden thought made him smile.  
"A little walk on the way back couldn't hurt." Walking through the alleys gave him a chance to follow Tomoyo's orders to 'protect the city' as well as the possibility to vent his anger on some thug. _

_A sudden sound made Kurogane's ears twitch. A sound of terrified sobbing instantly made the warrior tense. His eyes narrowed as muted cries of pain and cruel laughter echoed from ahead. Speak of the devil. Rage radiated off him as he raced forward.  
He couldn't stand bastards who got cheap frills off causing others fear and pain. Stinking cowards! As fresh sobs of fear reached the warrior's ears, he drew his sword and smiled evilly. __He was going to enjoy this__._

_***********************_

_It had started innocently enough in the beginning.  
Chii, a young girl he had met about a month ago in a traveller's cafe had really wanted to visit the city. Since Fai was a naturally wonderful person (and had nothing better to do with his spare time), he had offered to escort the young lady anywhere she wanted. Soon the two had become fast friends and had decided to continue to travel together for a while. Kyoto had simply been a place to see. _

_Fai glanced at his small companion and listened intently as Chii excitedly guided him around and told him about many historical facts about the city.  
"...and Shirasaki castle was built almost 900 years ago!" Chii exclaimed happily as she pointed to one of the incredibly stunning buildings that Fai had seen miles outside the city walls. O.0 __wow _

"_It's amazing isn't it?"Fai nodded in agreement. It __**was**__ amazing. Despite stopping in numerous other countries on his travels, Fai had never been to one that had charmed him the way this one did._

_Colourful animal-shaped kites hung from elegantly tiled rooves. People __wore__ beautifully patterned dresses (which Chii had later informed him, were called 'kimonos' and that the weird wooden shoes that mostly the men wore were called 'geta'). And best of all, people casually addressed complete strangers using; what Fai thought were 'cute little nicknames'.  
(Chii had then unwittingly ruined his life by informing him that these were called honorifics, and were used throughout the eastern nations as an 'important way of determining personal and social standing')_

_Even the people were nice. (The only thing really bad about the place was the food. Well, the sushi was anyway. Never again, would he eat raw fish!).  
Fai grinned. If he ever settled down, it would definitely be in this country. Maybe owning a cafe. He smiled happily to himself. The one thing this country really needed was a proper introduction to cakes, milkshakes and __**Chocolate**__. ^-^_

_Fai looked down at the fluffy-eared maiden beside him as she jumped up and down with excitement. Like him, she was thrilled with the eastern nation and could not resist getting excited every time she saw something new. _

_The girl's fluffy ears instantly marked her as one of the Chobit clan. Fai felt warm inside. Chobit clansmen were always good company and were well known for their simple and friendly behaviour. They were also renowned for their photogenic memories and willingness to help others. Fai smiled. It was nice travelling with a Chobit. Seeing Chii reminded him of his mother. She had been a member of the Chobit clan. At least he had always thought she was before the incident...  
He frowned suddenly and shook his head. __**Of all the things to remember when he was trying to have fun with Chii. Stupid brain.**_

_A small hand latched onto his arm._

"_Fai? What's wrong Fai?" Chii's huge amber eyes blinked up at him concerned.  
Fai instantly forced a smile onto his face and beamed at Chii cheerfully.  
"Nothing is wrong. Why? Is there something on my face?"_

Chii shook her head. "Fai's face looked sad. And Chii thought that Fai was in pain." She placed a hand on the mage's chest and looked up at him sadly. "Fai hurts here? Is Fai injured?"  
The mage looked down at her and smiled sadly. "I'm not injured. I just remembered something from a long time ago. It hurt me once, but not so much anymore."  
The Chobit looked at him, worry etched all over her face. "Is Fai really alright?" He nodded cheerfully. She smiled relieved.

_Suddenly Chii jumped. Fai stared as the girl pointed to her left and squeaked._

"_Fai! Fai! The library!_

_Fai glanced at his wrist-watch. It had been 8:30 when they had set out. It was currently 12:14AM. Chii looked at him hopefully as Fai smiled cheerfully. _

_The library of Nihon was one of the few things Fai had known about the city before meeting Chii. Famous for its collections of rare spells, history books and science recordings, the library was one thing Fai desperately wanted to visit. Chii was also interested in the library and wanted to take Fai there as her way of thanking him. Unfortunately the day before, they had discovered the hard way that though the library closed at around 6:30 at night, tourists like themselves were not allowed in after 2:00PM._

_Fai sighed. Kyoto was a big city and had many winding streets. Even if they started walking now, the chances of the two of them making it there in time to read anything was slim. Chii looked up at him, disappointed. _

_Fai gave the girl a warm smile. "Sorry Chii, but I'm afraid we'll just have to wait until tomorrow. You don't mind, do you?"  
Chii looked dejected. "But Fai wanted to read books today. Fai said so this morning. This is all Chii's fault for taking so long to shop for supplies."  
Hot, shining tears ran Chii's mournful face. Fai smiled gently and patted the girl on the head. "It's not your fault, Chii. I also lost track of time. Why don't we head back to the hotel to try and rest for our visit tomorrow?"_

_Chii nodded sadly and sighed. Fai tapped her on the forehead. "So 'umm' which way is the hotel again? Do you know Chii?" Chii's face instantly brightened.  
"The hotel is twelve-hundred meters south-west of the North gate and thirty-five meters east of the West gate!" Chii bounced upwards and looked up at Fai proudly. "Chii will take Fai back to the hotel! Please follow Chii closely."_

_As Chii marched forward, Fai smiled. At least he had managed to make Chii happy._

_*********************_

_Fai sighed deeply and glanced at his watch again for what felt like the 100__th__ time. Things had been nice and enjoyable on their way back to the hotel. Chii was feeling cheerful, Fai had only been stared at once for his weird behaviour and Chii had actually known where she was going.  
Then the street which they had walked down that very morning had been blocked off by the city's officials after a carriage accident.  
It had been Fai's idea to leave the main path. Chii had immediately looked at the blocked street and asked if he had wanted to take the longer main street back to the hotel. He however, had insisted that it would be much faster if the two of them cut though the narrow side alleys, as they seemed to lead everywhere in the city._

_Fai mentally kicked himself. THAT had been a really great idea. Now it was 4:32 and both of them were completely lost. He groaned loudly. Now poor Chii was tired, they had encountered their 8__th__ dead-ended alley for the day and it was entirely his fault. Things really couldn't get much worse._

_Suddenly there was a loud thud behind them. Fai turned around and froze._

_No. Fai was wrong. Things could get a whole lot worse._

_Up until that point in time, Fai had yet to encounter any villainous people in Nihon. (He'd even began to wonder if there were ANY villainous people in Nihon) But one glance at the group who had cornered them in the dead end of the street, quickly corrected that theory._

_The leader of the group stepped forward and attempted, what Fai hoped was meant to be a smile. Protruding lip and nose rings made the pale-skinned mage feel faint. _

"_Nice girlfriend you got there, blondie." The mob behind the leader all smirked. _

_Fai gave the lout an amazingly friendly smile, (which only Fai knew was a fake. Not even Chii, who had surprised Fai more than once with her intuition, realised) as Chii grasped on to his hand._

"_Why yes. Chii here is one of the sweetest girls I've ever met. Would you like me to introduce you? She's a bit shy around strangers." Fai continued to smile as the group closed in. Some had already drawn knives from their sheaths. The leader answered as he pulled out his sword. "Nah, we don't need any fancy introductions, just throw 'er over here and we'll do the rest!" He smirked as light reflected upon the blade and lust glinted in his eyes._

_Fai's blood ran cold as the others all laughed and pulled out their own weapons. Behind him Chii squeaked and clutched Fai's hand in fear. Carefully he placed himself in front of Chii and babbled cheerfully as he glanced around quickly. _

"_I'm dreadfully sorry but I just realised we're running a bit late and we really need to be going-" Fai grabbed Chii and jumped back as one of the men lunged forward, and slashed at Fai with his dagger. _

_Fai dodged as more thugs tried their luck at hitting the elusive mage. Fai continued to avoid the attacks for a while, and was even beginning to enjoy it when one of them (who had somehow managed to avoid being noticed) snuck up behind him and smashed him on the head with a club. Fai gasped in pain as thick red blood trickled down the back of his head. Quickly he pushed Chii past the group and towards the exit._

"_Go, Chii! Run! You have to get away from here. Now!" Fai yelled as Chii stood frozen, staring at the blood which now flowed freely across his forehead. Realising her own danger, Chii began to run, but was caught by two thugs who had been hiding by the entrance. Fai had winced as two more grabbed him and slammed him into the ground. _

_Fai struggled wildly.  
__**He wouldn't allow them to hurt Chii!  
**__Though he hadn't____known her for very long, somehow Chii had become someone very important to Fai. Almost like a younger sister.  
Quickly the mage muttered a high-speed attack spell under his breath. Wind smashed into the alleyway as Fai fought to reach Chii. Ahead of him, Chii also fought by biting and scratching the two who held her.  
Screams of fear were blown into non-existence as wind slammed into people's faces (amazingly, the wind only blasted that one part of the alleyway. Fai smirked. Magical control was his specialty). _

"_Enough! Stop the spell or I'll slit the girl's throat!" The group leader roared as one of his men held a knife to Chii's throat. Chii's eyes were wide with fear._

_Fai froze. Instantly the wind, which had been about the force of a small tornado, dropped to the strength of a weak breeze.  
Seizing their chance, three nearby thugs lunged forward and wrapped what looked like a dirty dishrag around Fai's neck. Fai gasped in pain and dropped to his knees. Chii screamed out his name as Fai struggled to lift his limbs off the ground.  
"What on earth...just happened?" _

_Fai reached out a hand towards the cloth. He flinched back as an intense burst of energy radiated out from it. Fai trembled as he felt magic draining out of him.  
"__What is this...?__" He asked weakly as he struggled to breathe._

"_It's an anti-magic talisman we got from some monk a while back. It confines the magic of the spell-caster and repels it back onto them." The gang's leader smiled menacingly. Fai shrank back as he realised how helpless he was.  
Seeing Fai's reaction, the man reached over and hauled him off the ground by his collar. The man was just as ugly up close as he had looked from far away. Fai tried desperately to avoid puking in the man's face.  
"Its effects depend on the magic power of the person it's used on. Judging by how it flattened you, you must be stronger than you look, Mage."_

_The man's smirk suddenly twisted into a snarl. "You thought you could escape us with a wave of your hand. Like we were pieces of trash. Didn't you?! Mage- scum!" Fai gasped in pain as the man's claw-like nails cut into his skin._

"_I _**hate**_ magic. I also _**hate**___anybody who uses magic. It's magic-using bastards like you who killed my dear little brother."  
The man smiled sadistically as he dug his nails further into the mage's flesh. Fai gasped in agony as the man's smile grew.  
"It doesn't look so easy for you now, does it, Mage?! Not smiling so much anymore are you? They killed him so now I'm gonna kill you. Sounds fun, doesn't it?"_

Turning, the man called back to the others. "All you lot!" The others all stood to attention (Fai couldn't help but think they looked like a pack of feral dogs).  
"Forget the girl for now, boys. This one's a magic user. Let's have our fun with him instead!" Jeers and cruel laughter were carried into the air as the thugs ran over to try and impress their boss.

Fai winced as he was dropped to the ground and slowly glanced over towards where Chii had been. The two who had caught her earlier watched as the others hollered with their boss, seemingly uninterested.  
Chii was slumped between them. Blood trickled slowly from a graze on her cheek and there was a deep gash on her shoulder, but aside from that she didn't seem to be injured.  
Fai sighed with relief. Good. If she had been hurt, Fai wouldn't have known how to cope with the guilt.  
"_**It would have been like what happened to him.**__" thought Fai sadly.  
__Chii's frightened eyes looked into his own. Desperately, she stretched her hand out towards him as far as she could and mouthed words that Fai could not hear._

Somewhere deep down; a tiny part of Fai's heart cracked.

He had to get Chii out of here safely, if it was last thing he ever did. Girls as kind as Chii didn't deserve things like this to happen. Not only that, but it had been his fault that she'd ever been exposed to any danger at all. 

_Chii's eyes were filled with tears. __'__She thinks I'm hurt.' Fai realised with a start as more blood trickled across his face. 'I have to reassure her somehow. I can't let her feel sorry for something as pitiful as me.'_

_He smiled. It wasn't much but maybe it would cheer her up. Anything for her not to cry. If she cried, Fai knew for curtain that he would feel crushed._

_**THWACK! **_

_Chii screamed in horror as blood splattered across the ground and coarse laughter filled the air. Fai's head throbbed with pain. Dizzily he wondered which one had kicked him. Fai felt like he was going to puke._

_**THWACK!**____Another well placed kick to the blonde's stomach only reinforced the idea. As blood pounded through his skull, and more blows smashed on the delicate mage's body, Fai struggled to remain conscious. Bile was caught in his throat._

_Many blows later Fai wondered if his mind was going numb against pain. His magic flopped around weakly. Distantly he wondered if the anti-magic charm had fallen off. In the background of noise, he could barely make out Chii's ragged sobs. _

'_That's right. Chii.'  
Fai slowly forced his eyes open. He had to protect Chii. He owed it to her.__Painfully he spread his mouth into a smile.  
__** 'Chii. It's all right. See, I'm smiling.' **__Fai thought tiredly.__** 'Please. Don't cry.' **__Fai's eyes shut again. He could only vaguely hear the voices of the men around him._

"_Boss! __'s still ___ve! We've kick__ him all over ____ it just___!"_

"_Why don't we just do to him what we're gonna to the girl?"Fai strained to understand what the men were saying. It was like trying to hear with hands pressed to his ears._

"_He's pretty enough for it anyway."As laughter roared overhead, Fai felt uneasy. What were they talking about? He was sure...he was sure he knew...but everything around him was spinning around so quickly that he couldn't think straight. Maybe if he could just remember... _

_The leader's voice rang out. "Well, if you're all so eager..."_

_Rough hands gripped Fai's waist and chest. Fai suddenly felt sick. Now he knew what they meant._

_**Not that... Anything but that! Not again! **_

_Fai fought wildly. He bit, scratched and lashed out at anything that came into range. Chii screamed out support as she desperately tried to fight the two men holding her pulled away, back out of the alley and out of sight. A pair of hands forced Fai down onto his back; while another ripped open his shirt. As someone began to run a hand down his thigh, Fai let out a loud bloodcurdling scream._

_*********_

_Kurogane burst into the next alley and growled as the stench of blood hit his nose. Ahead of him, a blonde girl struggled against two men.  
Kurogane lunged at the men holding the girl, sword drawn. He grimaced slightly as his sword bit into the 1st man's flesh spattering blood across his face. Instantly he charged the other one and grinned sadistically as his 2nd opponent took one look at him and fled._

Kurogane snorted in satisfaction and turned to face the girl he had just rescued. Long brown-blond and strange furry ears clearly marked her as a Chobit-clansman.

_He walked over as the girl struggled to get to her feet. Kurogane grinned. Trying to get up her own two feet so soon after something normally so traumatic. This girl was made of pretty strong stuff.  
The girl's legs began to wobble. Kurogane rushed over as the girl collapsed forwards. Catching her he gave her a stern look. "Oi! Don't rush things so soon after something like this!"  
The girl looked up and immediately latched onto his hand. _

"_Please! You have to help! They have Fai and they're trying to hurt him!" Kurogane stared at the girl's panic filled eyes and felt a chill run down his spine as his brain processed the information._

_Another group of thugs. Another person in danger, in an unknown area. Damn._

_Suddenly a blood-chilling scream filled the air. Kurogane swore angrily, dropped the girl and bolted down the alley to the left._

_Thugs swarmed everywhere like cockroaches; blood was spattered all around the alleyway. In the centre of the group a small flash of gold shone out from underneath the red. But sickened Kurogane most, was the Nihon-guard-uniforms that each of the men wore. That morning, Shogo of the yellow-tiger squad had informed him of reports of a group of criminals posing as police within the city walls, but at the time Kurogane had dismissed the idea as mere rumours._

_Cursing he raised Ginryu above his head and lunged forward. __**  
Muddy Nihon's name, would they?! The bastards didn't have nearly enough lives to pay!**_

_************************** **_

_Fai looked up in shock as a sword pierced though the stomach of the thug leader and blood spattered around him. All around, men ran around in confusion. What looked like silver lightning moved though the crowd, slashing, cutting and ripping through anything that got in its path as the screams of its victims pierced through his ears._

_Almost instantly, the entire alley fell silent except for the sound of Fai's gasping breaths.  
Fai looked up. Eyes the same colour of red that now stained the nearby footpath, looked straight into his own.  
Chii's panic-filled voice reached his ears as the dark stranger reached over and placed a hand on Fai's shoulder. "Oi. It's alright now. You're safe. Nothing is going to happen to you now."_

_Fai stared at the most amazing, passionate eyes he had ever seen and smiled.  
This person had saved him and Chii. This person had risked his own life to save theirs.  
Fai wrapped his arms around the man._

"_Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Fai repeated breathlessly into the stranger's cloak as he felt himself slip unconscious. Warm hands wrapped around him and Fai knew no more._

_*****************************************************************************************_

_**Bonus story:**____Shogo prays. (Sorry, this bonus story is really long...)_

_Shogo groaned loudly. Being the leader of the Nihon imperial-city guards (A.k.a the yellow tigers), it was his job to investigate any unusual behaviour in the city.  
For the last few weeks, there had been a disturbing lack of crimes being reported and the day before, two of the 12__th__ police unit had been assaulted by a group of citizens claiming that the police force was corrupt and full of murderers._

_Luckily the two unit members had avoided serious injury but now reports of men wearing yellow tiger-uniforms attacking the general public as well as mob-retaliations against the police were flooding in. _

_To make things worse, today he'd been supposed to gone to watch Primera's sing at the concert hall at around 7:30. He glanced up at the clock. It was 6:24. He sighed. _

_The way things were going, not only was he going to miss the concert, there was a very likely chance that he was going to have to place Primera under police protection because of her high profile relationship with him._

_A sweat-drop ran down his fore-head. Yep. Things were defiantly out of control.  
He winced as he remembered the last time she'd been placed under protection. More than eight senior officers had threatened to resign on the spot if they ever had to work with her again. Another twelve had asked for extended sick leave after being dragged across the city for 7 hours, during one of Primera's infamous shopping trips._

_Shogo clenched his hands together tightly.  
Maybe if he prayed really hard, some god or another up there in the heavens would take pity on him and resolve all of this before the concert began. Or at least stop Primera from killing him before he could explain. _

"_Shogo-san! Shogo-san!" Suddenly loud voices echoed through the building. Shogo jumped up as two identical boys burst into the blue-haired guard's office. Both boys' eyes were filled with panic as the two simultaneously burst out yelling. _

"_Shogo-san! Kurogane-sama! He found them-there's blood everywhere and-"  
"They were all wearing our uniforms and had weapons! Kurogane-sama had to rush-"_

_Shogo launched himself forwards and clamped his hands over the boys' mouths. After a moment's silence, he pulled back and glared, leaning on the table._

"_Masayoshi! Sang Yung! What have I told you two about panicking while reporting messages? Good grief, you'd think that you two would have learnt that by now."_

_The twins simultaneously blushed and lowered their heads._

"_Sorry Shogo-san. We both got carried away." Masayoshi (the taller one) gushed apologetically as Sang Yung (the shorter) nodded. _

_Shogo smiled. The twin messengers were both loyal and good-natured boys but had a tendency to panic when delivering important messages.  
At least some things never changed. _

"_So what is it that you have to tell me? Hurry and spit it out before someone else tells me first." Shogo frowned as the twins glanced at each other and nodded._

"_Kurogane-sama is requesting a cleanup squad to go to the central west-gate sector as soon as possible. He said that you had better send a few body-bags as well." Masayoshi stated calmly as Sang Yung hastily continued. "It seems as if Kurogane-sama had an encounter with the group that have been posing as imperial guards."_

_Shogo swore and slammed his hand on the desk. "WHAT?! When?! What happened?! How many of them are still alive?! Are there any civilians injured?!"_

_Shogo cursed mentally. As much as it may have annoyed him, much of Nihon's police investigations required its criminals alive to be trialled and despite his fighting skill (or perhaps because of it), Kurogane of the Royal Guard was well known for leaving mountains of bodies in his wake. Civilian casualties were also something Shogo preferred not to deal with._

"_The encounter happened around 5 o'clock. At least that was when we were contacted." Masayoshi looked up at Shogo hesitantly. "Some of the group managed to escape so Kurogane-sama ordered us to inform all of the nearby stations with our magic, and then told us to restrict access to the area. That's why it took us so long to tell you about it."_

_Sang Yung nodded. _

"_One civilian was critically injured but was taken to the hospital immediately afterwards by Kurogane-sama himself. Another person was also injured but she's doing just fine."_

_Shogo sighed with relief. No one had been hurt. Amazing. Almost like a miracle._

_Suddenly a grin spread across Shogo's face.  
"Masayoshi. You said all that was needed was the clean-up team and a bunch of body bags, right?"_

_The boy looked up at him confused. "Yes. I did."  
"Then I don't need to do anything other than sign the authorisation papers and write a report on it later, right?"_

_Now he was getting stares from both of them. Masayoshi nodded slowly. "Yeah..."_

_Immediately fully signed papers were shoved into the twins' hands and the two stared as the tall police captain raced out of the room._

_Shogo felt himself grinning as he ran towards the concert hall._

_*************************_

"_It seemed praying pays off, after all."_

______________________________________________________________________

**Character lists.**

**Chapter 2**

Atamatsu (a.k.a Kendappa-oh): _Originally from RG Vega. In Tsubasa she is Tomoyo's older sister. Unfortunately I haven't read much of RG Vega so I don't really know much about her. In this fic, she rarely appears or is mentioned but is one of the two rulers of Nihon. Tomoyo is the other. I find her kind of scary._

Chii: _The main female/robot character of Chobits. Innocent and friendly, Chii is always ready to help others, even if she doesn't know how. In Tsubasa, Chii was created by Fai using magic, to protect his brother and made to look like his mother. There will be no Fai/Chii romance in this fic! Chii is __**very**__ important to the storyline, but the idea of Chii and Fai hooking up makes me feel ill. Besides Chii has her own love interest from Chobits who will be in this fic. _

Shogo Asagi: _While_ _Shogo Asagi may seem like a regular Tsubasa cross-over character, his first actual appearance was in the movie version of X/1999 as a replacement of Kakyo, one of the dragons of earth. They didn't create him, but Clamp must have liked Shogo enough to pull him out of X and put him in Tsubasa, in both the Hanshin Republic and the world of Piffle. In the fic, Shogo is the captain of the city guards/police. I made him a cop, mostly because it was the only thing I could think of him doing, other than being a race-car driver or a bounty hunter. He may or may not have a bigger role in the fic. I haven't decided yet._

Masayoshi and Sang Yang:_ Originally from ClampSchoolDetectives, Masayoshi is only in the series for a few pages. But he's really cute so I like him. In Tsubasa, his kudan is actually his MagicKnightRayearth look-alike Sang Yang. Sang Yang is originally from MagicKnightRayearth and serves princess Aska of Fahren. In my fic, the two are twins and have communication magic, which may be useful again later. _

Primera: _Originally from MagicKnightRayearth, Primera was actually a six-inch tall fairy! She had a crush on a guy called Lantis, and would react jealously whenever any other characters approached him. In Tsubasa she is found in Hanshin Republic and in Piffle world. As I'm a bit of a Primera fan, I'm really glad that her love interest this time feels the same way. I know she sings in this fic but I haven't thought of anything else. Sorry Primera-chan!_

_**So how do guys like the fic so far? If you have any questions or ideas about what should happen in the fic, please review and talk about it. I'll read them and do my best to write a reply to each and every one of them. ...unless you don't want a reply (in that case, please tell me you don't want me to reply).  
Umm...It may take me a while to update the next chapter because I'm having a hard time figuring out what to write. Sorry in advance.  
So yeah. Lil' White Raven signing out. **_


	4. Chap 4:Travelers and their reasons,Part1

Author's note: **Waaahhh! I'm so sorry for taking so long, but I finally managed to finish the chapter. **_Hehehe...no sleep for three days..._**  
Thanks to ****cuenta**** for being my Beta reader; and to ****flamingpurplebunnies**** for her continuous support. I'd also like to thank ****Melissa Brite**** and ****Fai'swingedchronicles**** for their reviews. Every review no matter how small helps to give me idea and plotlines for the future. I would also like to thank the wonderful people who have subscribed or added the fic to their favourites. It makes me so happy when people do that! -^_^-  
**_Sorry about my author's notes being so long. Feel free to skip them if you want._

**This is a two part chapter so this author's note counts for both. Most of the fun is in part two, so yeah...more depressing stuff. Sorry about that. It's only a two-part chapter is because I promised people that this chapter would have a major plot reference for the rest of the fic, but unfortunately it took too long to write all in one lot and would have made the page too long. So two pages it is.**

**For all those who may have been distressed by the last chapter, I want you to know that this is a naturally dark story, so be prepared for horrible things to happen. I will do my best to make up for it by adding a number of fluffy and comedy scenes.**

**Sakura, Syaoran and Mokona are finally being introduced. Yay!**

**I ended up making Syaoran's introduction similar to the prologue.  
I made it this way so that Syaoran and Fai might have a slightly stronger bond in the beginning of the fic than they do in the beginning of TRC. I had a lot of trouble deciding how to introduce Sakura and Mokona, but finally decided to go with what I had originally planned, so she and Syaoran can meet Kurogane and Fai as soon as possible. Such good little children! **

**Fai and Kurogane are both in this chapter but not until after Sakura and Syaoran get their turn. Kuro/Fai fans will have to be patient. **

**Yuko fans should try not to be too upset after this chapter. I could never, ever kill one of CLAMP's major characters, let alone Yuko.  
Not in a million years. However the characters in the story don't know that, so please, don't tell them. It'll be our little secret. ^-^**

**At the end of each chapter there will be a new feature called the 'World list'. This list will include various things such as what different terms used by the characters mean, what type of magic everyone has and what the different countries in the fic look like. I'm not sure if this is a good idea but I want to put it in anyway. Please review and tell me if it works or not. **

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Clamp-related other than the mini-Fai doll I won at the Australian anime-festival this year and of course the plot for this fic. Now on with the fic!

_**Chapter 3: Travellers and their Reasons, part 1**_

_The hidden colony of Fahren Rei-ten Castle_

_Syaoran looked up at the cold grey bars of the jail cell, and sighed silently as pale beautiful moonlight flooded through the thin slit of a window._

_Only the morning before, he would have been allowed to bask in that wonderful light and replenish his magic. Now all he could do was gaze at it longingly. He shook his head of listless thoughts and glanced over at the guard.  
The prison-guard's chair groaned underneath the man's weight as he snored loudly. Syaoran edged closer. Finally sure the man was asleep; he carefully pulled a stone-shaped key out his pocket and placed it against the prison cell's walls.  
His eyes narrowed as the hidden doorway to the cell opened with a quiet thud._

_If that __**woman**__ had been his mother, then there would have been no chance for escape. She had known all about the hidden doorways and escape routes of the castle; in fact, she had been the one to teach him all of them. Syaoran felt his heart tighten. That could only mean that she was also dead. Just like Yuko._

_He lent over slightly and entered the tunnel. He winced as the memories flooded back to him._

_... _

**A large gapping sword wound surrounded by burns had pierced her chest, while the nearby walls had been dyed a deep crimson red.  
Syaoran stood paralysed as medics and morticians rushed in and out of the room. Shouts and yells echoed all around him, but Syaoran could not hear a word. Numbly he clenched a hand to his chest and felt tears run down his face.  
Yuko dead? Impossible. No one in the world was as amazing or as powerful as Yuko was! Even Gods had kneeled before her! Surely she couldn't just die like this?!  
Syaoran wiped his eyes as the doors behind him burst open. Gigie, Syaoran's mother and now heir to the throne rushed into the room sobbing. Syaoran felt his heart ache for his mother. Despite the differences between them, Gigie and Yuko had been close friends and had often referred to each other as sisters. They were so close, that when Syaoran had turned 5 years old, Yuko had named Gigie's children as successors to her title.  
He watched as tears ran across Gigie's face. Gently he placed a hand on her shoulder. Gigie looked up at him, then to Syaoran's complete surprise, knocked him away from her and glared at him in pure hatred. ****"This was your doing, wasn't it?!" She screamed as Syaoran fell backwards. Syaoran looked up at his mother in shock. What on earth..?  
Gigie pulled out a blood-stained sword as the other people in the room gasped in shock.**

"**I found this outside!" Gigie held the sword out for all to see. Syaoran's eyes widened. **_**Hien**_**! The sword his father had given him! But why was his mother holding it out like that? Why were there blood stains on it? **

"**Your fire magic is all over it!" she screamed as she pointed towards Yuko's corpse, "You used your fire-magic to kill her didn't you?! That's why she's covered in burns, isn't it?!"**

**Syaoran stared at her in disbelief. '**_**She blamed him?!' **_

**Immediately, Syaoran felt himself being pulled backwards. He looked up. Three mages glared down at him as a fourth held a dagger to his throat.  
"Don't even think about escaping, you murderer!" One yelled into his ear as the others glared at him in disgust and anger.**

"**Wait a minute! I don't have anything to do with-"Syaoran blurted out, then blinked in shock as magic silenced him. **

**Then they had dragged him down to the dungeons and locked him up in chains.**

**...**

_After hearing of Yuko's death they had all turned on him to relieve themselves of their own pain and grief. The woman posing as his mother had played the crowd, and easily bent them to her will._

_Syaoran frowned as he reached to end of the tunnel. Carefully he placed his ear to the passage's door. Satisfied no one was on the other side he pushed the door open and stepped out into the corridor, then closed the hidden passage's door behind him._

_Even if he was considered a traitor, Syaoran wanted to avoid as much fighting as possible. Like any active magic-user, he knew the dangers of taking lives and even in a situation where killing might be necessary, the idea still made him feel sick._

_Quietly he slinked to the side of the wall and made his way towards the west tower. Syaoran felt his breath quicken. His first priority would be to retrieve Hien. It was an old law, but in Fahren, any blade that been used to kill anyone outside of battle had to be melted down, never to be used again. While normally Syaoran wouldn't have cared, Hien was special._

_Hien had been the last gift to him from his late father. But it had also saved his life once of its own accord. Because Hien still had a soul. At least that was what Watanuki had told him after the 'accident'._

Watanuki_. Syaoran's heart gave a sudden lurch at the thought of his twin._

_Just before all of this had happened Yuko had ordered Watanuki to go and get her something from a town near the border of Nihon. Despite all of his grumbling, Syaoran knew his twin had been excited at the thought of leaving the city as well as the thought that Yuko had trusted him with such an important task. _

_How would Watanuki react when he learnt Yuko was dead? Unlike Syaoran, who cared for his 'aunt' but wasn't particularly close, Watanuki had almost been like a son to her. A sudden painful thought crossed Syaoran's mind.  
_'Was Watanuki even still alive?'_  
He shook his head, angry with himself. Of course he was! The first thing he would do after getting Hien back would be to go and tell Watanuki what had happened. Then the two of them would find out what really happened and put a stop to it._

_Sudden footsteps up ahead made the boy freeze. Quickly he flattened himself against the wall. Syaoran waited as the footsteps thudded past then ran up the nearby staircase.  
Syaoran felt his pulse race as he reached the alchemy room. Quietly opening the door, he smiled in relief as he spotted Hien resting gently beside the melting-furnace. Quickly he rushed over and held the sword close to his heart._

_Syaoran glanced around the room. If he was going to spend time outside of Fahren it wouldn't be smart to have nothing to trade for money. He carefully picked a few pricey-looking, but unloved daggers from the to-be-melted-down pile and stuffed them in his cloak. Suddenly an alarm rang through the room. _

"_ATTENTION! A CRIMINAL HAS ESCAPED FROM THE DUNGEONS! ALL CASTLE PERSONEL SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT, AS THE ESCAPEE IS SKILLED WITH MAGIC AND VERY DANGEROUS!" _

_Syaoran looked up in surprise and bit his lip to suppress his panic. He hadn't expected to be found out so soon. Loud shouts of castle soldiers from the corridor behind him instantly eliminated any thought of sneaking out the same way he had come in. Syaoran gulped deeply and jumped out the window._

_*****************_

_Sakura giggled with excitement as she finished packing her bags._

_Tomorrow was her 16__th__ birthday, and like all other proud members of the eastern beast-tribe, she would be allowed to begin her coming-of-age ceremony. A huge part of the ceremony included a year's-worth of travelling outside of the village, and despite how much she was going to miss her family, Sakura couldn't suppress her excitement. _

_Finally she was going to see the big world out there! Maybe she would even make a bunch of new friends; with non-beast-tribe people! As well as new animal friends!  
A small nudge to her arm made Sakura look down. A small rabbit-like creature looked up at her, smiling._

"_Moko-chan? When did you get here? I thought you were still doing that thing you said you needed to do." Sakura said cheerfully as she picked Mokona up and held the fluffy creature to her chest._

_Mokona lifted up her paws and gave her human a wicked grin. "Mokona already took care of it! Since Sakura and Mokona will be leaving tomorrow, Mokona thought Touya would appreciate a good-bye present!"_

_Sakura glanced at her animal companion as a trickle of sweat fell down the side of her face. "Moko-chan? Did you put something in Touya's room again?"_

_Before Mokona had a chance to answer, a loud shriek of surprise from her elder brother's room blasted through the cottage. Sakura blinked in shock then glared at Mokona angrily.  
"Mokona! I thought I told you not to do things like that to Onii-chan!"_

_The white pork-bun flushed with embarrassment for a moment, then brightened.  
"Sorry Sakura. But this way, Touya is sure not forget Mokona for a long time!"_

_Sakura looked at Mokona disapprovingly. "But you still shouldn't put bugs in Onii-chan's bed! It's mean to the bugs as well as Onii-chan."_

_Mokona flicked her ears back apologetically then snuggled into Sakura's bed, her white fur soft against Sakura's skin. "Sakura and Mokona have a big day ahead of them and should go to sleep soon!"_

_Sakura sighed, lay down and pulled the bed covers over her body. "Alright Moko-chan. But you owe Onee-chan an apology tomorrow morning!"  
Not hearing a response Sakura glanced over. Mokona's eyes were tightly closed and light snores drifted up to Sakura's ears. Smiling the jade-eyed beauty stroked her furry friend's head and flicked off the light. "Good night Moko-chan."  
She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep as her brother's outraged cries filled the night._

_************_

_Syaoran panted with exhaustion as he lent against a good solid tree-trunk.  
When he had made his escape from the window, he had failed to realise how many people had been looking up at the western tower and as a result had spent a large amount of time trying to lose his pursuers. In the end he had only lost them by jumping into the courtyard trees and remaining as still as he possibly could._

_After waiting for the guards to search somewhere else, he had hopped down and made his way to the castle walls.  
Syaoran sighed with relief as he glanced around. It seemed the perimeter guards had also joined the pursuit and had left the walls undefended.  
Luckily for Fahren there wasn't much chance of an enemy attack; after all, who in their right mind would invade the one of the world's biggest colony of mages? Even without Yuko, the combined magic of over 300 sorcerers was nothing to be laughed about._

_Syaoran smiled softly at his home one last time then turned to leave.  
A quiet rustling noise made Syaoran turn. He glanced up in shock as a blade whistled down towards him. Immediately he drew Hien and flinched as the two swords crashed against each other. "It's about time you showed up, Little Doggie!" Bright-amber eyes widened in surprise as they glanced into emerald-green ones._

"_Ryuoh?!"_

_Syaoran stepped back and held Hien in front of him uncertainly as Ryuoh stood smiling in front of him._

"_You are a real pain in the butt to track, you know that?! If Ray-earth here hadn't sniffed you out, I never would have caught you." A huge, auburn-furred wolf made its way behind him and growled as Syaoran inched away._

_Syaoran clutched Hien tightly.  
Ryuoh. The two had met on the first day Ryuoh had entered Fahren almost 3 years ago and had since then had been inseparable.  
Syaoran felt his heart ache again. Had Ryuoh been told that he had killed Yuko? Did Ryuoh hate him now? Even the idea of Ryuoh hating him hurt Syaoran more than he was willing to admit.  
Silently Ryuoh raised his sword, the Ryuga and thrust it at Syaoran, stopping only centimetres away from his face._

"_Did you really kill her, Syaoran?"Syaoran blinked in surprise as Ryuoh stared at him determinedly. "You promised a long time ago that you'd never lie to me. Even if you're a murderer I trust you enough to keep that promise. So if you try to lie to me right now, I swear I'll shove this sword right up your nose!"_

_Syaoran looked stunned for a moment then smiled. It was just like Ryuoh to come up with something so straightforward like that. _

"_I didn't kill Yuko." Syaoran answered softly as Ryuoh watched him calmly. "I'm sorry Ryuoh. I don't know what happened to Yuko-san or why I was framed but I promise you I will do everything I can to find out. I give you my word."_

_Syaoran tensed as Ryuoh looked at him thoughtfully. Suddenly the green-eyed boy smiled and lowered his sword to the ground. Ryuoh grinned as Syaoran blinked at him in surprise. "You believe me?"Syaoran stuttered in shock.  
Ryuoh smiled at him cheerfully. "Of course I do. You almost never lie and besides, you really suck at it."_

_Syaoran flushed in embarrassment; Ryuoh was always so blunt. Ryuoh, seeing his face, walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. Ray-earth also padded over and licked Syaoran's hand in apology. _

"_I really didn't believe it when the others said you killed her, you know. I knew that sooner or later, you'd escape and that waiting in the kennels with the castle dogs would be my best bet. And it worked didn't it." Ryuoh laughed as he stroked the brightly-furred wolf on the head. "After all, Ray-earth here was the one that found you. You owe him a free feed for the next couple of weeks by the way."_

_Syaoran laughed. No matter what the conversation was about, Ryuoh always had a way of lightening the mood._

"_I found him! He's over here! Aggghh-" The guard who had been yelling from the gate balcony, suddenly screamed and was cut off as Ray-earth leapt up and bit down onto the poor man's throat. Syaoran flinched at the sight of blood. _

_They had been discovered! And because of that man's yelling more guards were bound to show up. Damn. Things were definitely getting out of hand._

_A tap on his shoulder made Syaoran jump. Ryuoh stepped forward and grinned, his sword held lopsidedly beside him.  
"You should go on ahead Little Dog. I'm sure the Hissy Cat* needs your help. I'll stick around here for a while."  
Syaoran looked at his friend and immediately shook his head.  
"I'm not going without you, Ryuoh. I appreciate you trying to help, but-"  
Syaoran's sentence was cut off as a hand covered his mouth. Ryuoh glared at him angrily for a moment then smiled._

"_You're such a nice guy Little Dog. But, being nice won't save you or that brother of yours." Ryuoh's eyes narrowed. "I enjoy fights like this. They help remind you why you should get stronger in the first place. So if Little Dog really wants to help his friends, he should take my advice and run before they can catch him."  
The brown-haired warrior reached inside his shirt pocket and held his hand out to a confused Syaoran._

"_Take it." Out of Ryuoh's hand fell a single leather-cord necklace. Syaoran's eyes widened as he looked at it. A beautifully carved ivory sakura, hung in the middle of the necklace. He stared at it, amazed.  
While Syaoran knew the beast-tribe often wore jewellery made from animal materials such as bone or fur and that many such items were kept in the castle's museum, this was the first time Syaoran had ever seen such a well made piece. The fact that it belonged to Ryuoh who had an open dislike of such things only made it more unusual. Syaoran stared at it for a moment then looked at Ryuoh confused._

_Ryuoh smiled widely. "It's a gift from a precious friend. If you ever meet her, I want you to give it to her. I promised a long time ago I'd return it but I think it would be better if you held onto it for a while."  
Seeing Syaoran was still bewildered he continued. "That necklace needs to be in good condition when I return it. Right now I want to enjoy this fight and so, as to avoid smashing it, I will entrust you to take care of it until I'm done."  
Cheerfully he shoved the amber-eyed boy towards the forest. "Of course, in order for him to protect it, Little Dog needs to escape, doesn't he? Taking out a bunch of stuffy old soldiers is hardly problem, so I'll just beat them off for a while, while you get away. And don't worry; Ray-earth here has always had a good nose, so catching up with you will be a piece of cake!"_

_Ryuoh's grin left Syaoran no chance to argue. Syaoran sighed internally._

"_You promise me you __**will**__ catch up." He said determinedly, as he locked eyes with the green-eyed boy. "You won't get hurt or killed along the way, right?"_

_Ryuoh grinned and flashed him the victory sign. "Course not! What kind of person do you take me for? I'm stronger than that! You really ought to remember who you're talking to!" He gave Syaoran another shove. "Now get going! You've wasted too much time as it is."_

_Syaoran nodded and ran into the forest. Ryuoh looked towards the forest for a moment then turned back towards the gates as soldiers closed in._

_**********_

_Smiling to himself he lifted up Ryuga and pointed it towards the enemy, while an angry Ray-earth bared his teeth._

_It was at times like this that Ryuoh was glad Syaoran wasn't around. As good a fighter as he was, Syaoran was simply too gentle for battle._

_Syaoran was too kind hearted. Unlike himself. It was good that Syaoran wasn't there. Ryuoh didn't want to lose him as a friend. He really doubted Syaoran would like finding out how he __**really **__fought. _

_He grinned as he and Ray-earth launched themselves forward and grinned wider as the screams of his enemies echoed through the woods.  
As long as Syaoran wasn't around Ryuoh could go all-out._

_**This was going to be a lot of fun.**_

_*************_

_Syaoran bit his lip worriedly as he ran through the forest's trees. He clenched his hand around the sakura-necklace and hugged it to his chest. _

_**Please don't die, Ryuoh. Please. I've lost too many people already.**_

_*****************************_

_Kurogane sighed deeply and slowly glanced over at the clock. 1:43AM.  
5 broken ribs, a cracked skull, multiple internal injuries and a fractured leg. Kurogane didn't have to be a doctor to know it was serious._

_He glanced over at the small Chobit girl sitting beside him in the waiting room. The girl stared at the doors to the patient-room, eyes red from crying._

_Luckily for the mage, they hadn't been too far away from the hospital so they had managed to get him to a doctor with healing magic right away. Even so the injuries were serious. _

_Kurogane glared at the waiting room clock and sighed. Even though he had killed the ringleader and a number of the group's thugs, Kurogane still felt useless. Despite his determination and overwhelming skill he had still failed to prevent a person in Nihon from being hurt.  
Kurogane placed a hand on his head. This was stupid and he knew it and but failing to protect someone after only a few hours after promising Tomoyo he would was depressing.  
He couldn't even go back out there to hunt for the rest of the bastards because a doctor had noticed a scratch on his arm and had immediately demanded he stay in the hospital until he recovered. From a scratch! Of all the stupid reasons..._

_Sudden warmth on his arm jolted Kurogane out of his depressing thoughts. _

"_Is Kurogane all right? Kurogane's face has a sad look. Chii is worried."Chii's amber eyes blinked up at him worriedly as her tiny hand rested on his arm.  
Kurogane glanced at the Chobit girl in surprise and shook his head._

_How had she learnt his name? Probably from that idiot Shogo who had rushed in to thank him for some stupid reason. That guy really did talk too much about his girlfriend._

_Seeing his reaction, Chii sighed sadly and went back to staring at the wall._

_In truth while the whole event had disturbed Kurogane in more ways than one, the thing that bothered the red-eyed warrior the most had been how the mage had looked at him before he had passed out. _

**(Flashback: Kurogane p.o.v)**

_**Kurogane wiped his sword clean of blood on the back of the thug he had most recently killed and looked around the alley for more enemies. Finding none, he rushed over to the thug's victim. He glanced down.**_

"_**Oh crap..." Kurogane bit his lip and tried to avoid being sick.**_

_**Golden blond hair just barely flashed out from underneath a thick covering of thick red blood. Clothes that had once been pristine white, now more closely resembled rags that had used to clean up a murder scene. Wild, sparkling blue eyes stared unblinkingly into his own; no doubt due to shock. **_

_**Kurogane knelt down and placed a hand on the man's shoulder, silently praying that most of the blood had come from those men and not this 'Fai' person.**_

"_**Oi. It's alright now. Nothing is going to happen to you now."Kurogane said carefully as the blond girl who had followed him ran over and yelped in distress at seeing her friend's condition. **_

_**Kurogane looked at the man and felt his muscles tense. After an event like this, there was no way to predict how a person would react; one wrong move or word could shatter him to pieces.**_

_**The man stared at him for a moment then, to Kurogane's complete surprise, gave him the most delicate, heartfelt smile he had ever seen.  
The man's rail-thin arms reached up and wrapped Kurogane's waist. Kurogane felt the blood rush to his face. **_

_**What the heck?!**_

_**Shining blue eyes stared up at him, which were then were hidden from view as the blond buried his head in Kurogane's coat.**_

"_**Thank you...Thank you...Thank you..." A voice Kurogane could only assume belonged to the blonde, whimpered breathlessly into the gruff warrior's coat.  
Kurogane felt a sudden stab of pain in his chest. Instinctively he wrapped his arms around the small figure then flushed red in embarrassment.**_

_**Realising the man had lost conscious; he leapt to his feet and ran towards the hospital, the Chobit girl only a few metres behind him.**_

**(End Flashback)**

_Those eyes...  
There had been something so familiar about those eyes. Somehow beautiful and fragile like two rounded pieces of crystal. Except that they were blue. Like sapphires or rare kinds of jewels. Almost like Tomoyo's..._

_Kurogane whacked himself on the head and snarled at himself. _

_**WHAT WAS HE THINKING?! He hadn't even spoken to the guy yet and he was comparing him to Tomoyo?! The blond was just some guy he had saved on the way back to the castle. Someone he met by pure chance.**_

_Kurogane glared imaginary daggers towards the wall.___

_**Is this what talking to an insane princess about love for three hours does to your brain?! No wonder his head hurt. It was all Tomoyo's fault!**_

_Kurogane sighed as the Chobit girl curled up next to him and fell asleep.  
Hopefully for the girl's sake the blond would recover quickly. Girls like that didn't deserve to cry. He glanced up one last time at the clock. _

_This was going to be a long night...___

_**************************************_

Fai ran through the pitch-black darkness. Shadowy figures reached up and pleaded for him to help them, but Fai kept running.

_He couldn't stop. If he did, they would catch him. But they needed his help..._

A hand colder than ice grabbed his shoulder. Fai turned and looked up into eyes, golden with madness. A shocked whimper escaped Fai's lips.

"Why did you run away, Fai? Didn't you say you wanted to help me?"  
The golden-eyed man looked at Fai disapprovingly as Fai inched away in terror. "You won't help me, will you?"

"Is that because of all those people in the way? Don't worry I'll get rid of them for you." Black hair swayed as the man pulled a long silver sword out of the sheath attached to his belt. Fai's eyes widened with horror as the man's sword slashed through a person's waist.

"_No! Please stop Ashura! I don't want this to happen! I don't want everyone to disappear again!" _Fai's mind screamed as he remained frozen to the spot.  
Ashura's blade swung and another body fell to the ground. Fai watched in despair as more and more people fell to the ground.

_**There was nothing he could do. He couldn't even forfill Ashura's wish. He was a monster. A cowardly creature too weak to protect anything.**__  
_Fai tried to turn his head away from the carnage and felt tears run down his face as he failed.

"What's this?" Fai's eyes widened as Chii sat in front of Ashura, her face turned towards him. "A friend of yours? Oh well..." Ashura raised his sword over his head.

Fai closed his eyes in defeat as ragged sobs left his mouth.  
_No more...I can't bear to see any more..._

"**Nothing is going to happen to you now." **A deep, gentle voice made Fai's eyes open with a shock. Bright red eyes full of concern looked down at him.  
Red eyes... like blood. But somehow comforting and reassuring. Fai stared.

"**Wake up. Or nothing will ever change."**

Fai opened his mouth to speak, but instead found himself falling.

"**WAKE UP NOW!"**

**...........................................**

"_WHO ARE YOU?!" Fai shouted as he shot upright pushing his bed covers aside._

"_Excuse me?" Fai blinked in surprise as a feisty blue-haired girl turned and stared. "Amazing. Less than 24 hours in the emergency ward and he's already yapping."_

_Fai looked around in shock. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was..._

'-Chii crying, men everywhere, pain, blood spattered all over the ground, sliver-lightening ripping through the air, glowing red eyes-'

_Fai gasped as the memory pounded through his head. He glanced around confused.  
Where was Chii? Was she alright? Where was he, anyway?_

_He turned back to the young woman and smiled cheerfully. "Umm, Miss, but where exactly am I? I'm sorry but I'm feeling rather confused at the moment so..."_

_The nurse smiled. "You're in the emergency ward of the Kyoto city hospital. You were taken here after you got injured. My name is Umi__, by the way." _

_Umi reached over to a small side table next to Fai's bed and picked up a folder. "It really is amazing that you're awake already. With the injures you had, we weren't even sure you were going to make the night, let alone sit up and talk to people the very next day."_

_Fai gave the girl one of his 'perfect' smiles. "Well, putting a self-healing spell on myself probably helped a little."_

_Umi looked up at him surprised. "That must have been one hell of a spell you used." Fai nodded beaming. "Yes it was. I cast it about 2 months ago; the backlash was so bad I passed out for 3 days. I'm amazed it's still working though."_

_As Umi continued to stare in amazement, Fai breathed a sigh of relief. Too many questions about his state of health could lead to discoveries Fai really didn't want out in the open. Being a non-human had its advantages but being considered human by others was better in the long run._

"_Well anyway, two people that were very worried about you have been in the waiting room since last night. Shall I go get them?"_

_It was Fai's turn to look surprised. "Two of them? Is one a Chobit? With long honey-colored hair?"_

_Umi nodded. "Yes, I think her name was Chii or something. I think the other one was a member of the Nihon Royal Guard. Very tall. Do you want to see them or not?"A hint of annoyance entered the girl's voice. Fai nodded, a smile still plastered on his face. _

_As Umi briskly walked out of the room, Fai felt his face light up in a grin.  
Chii was alright, what a relief. _

_But... who was the other one?_

_**************************************************************************************_

_**Bonus story: **__Chii's thoughts_

_Chii stared at the clock and sighed softly.  
Despite the new dawn, Chii couldn't feel happy. Fai was still hurt and nobody knew if he would be alright or not. Chii felt sad. The only reason Fai had been hurt was because Chii had been there, and Chii knew it._

_Sighing again, she looked up at the black-haired man next to her. Kurogane._

_It had been Kurogane who had saved both her and Fai. Despite looking big and scary, Chii liked Kurogane a lot._

_Kurogane was very kind. During the night when it had got all cold, Kurogane had lent Chii his coat as well as reassured her that Fai would be alright.  
...Though Chii didn't really understand what he had meant when he had said that if Fai died he would kill him for making a girl cry.  
(It was very confusing for Chii. Chii had even looked it up in her 'Nihon terms' guide-book, but it hadn't been in there. So strange.)_

_She looked at the tall man and smiled. Kurogane looked down at her and scowled._

"_What are you looking at?" Red eyes glared at her. Chii's expression turned sad._

"_Is Kurogane feeling sad...because Fai was hurt before Kurogane came?"_

_Kurogane stared at the Chobit girl in shock then glared. "Are you reading my mind or something?"_

_Chii tilted her head to the side. "Reading? Like in a book?"_

_Kurogane looked at her strangely then sighed. "You really don't know what I mean do you?"  
Chii blinked in confusion. "No..."_

_Kurogane sighed again then leaned back on the chair and stared at the ceiling._

_Chii was very confused; what had Kurogane meant and why hadn't he answered her question? Maybe he didn't know the answer.  
Just like Fai. Fai always answered Chii's questions, but always lied to everyone else. Chii didn't know why Fai always lied but maybe Kurogane would know._

_Chii opened her mouth to ask why, when a tall blue-haired nurse walked over and tapped Kurogane on the shoulder._

_Chii blinked as Kurogane glared at the nurse coldly. He and Fai __**were **__a lot alike.  
Both were so nice but disliked being talked to by people they didn't know._

"_Excuse me, but the patient you two want to see is awake. He's in good enough condition for visitors, so if you want to see him, go now."_

_Chii's eyes widened in joy. Fai was awake! Instantly she jumped to her feet as Kurogane slowly lifted himself off his chair._

_Chii smiled as the two walked towards Fai's room._

_Fai had always been like an older brother to Chii. Now Kurogane, who was so much like and yet unlike Fai, was here too, Chii was very glad, Kurogane and Fai were sure to become close, maybe even friends, Chii was sure._

_Maybe Chii would get another brother._

**Character list. **(Sorry about this being so long)

**Chapter 3  
**_(I'm going to write about everyone that comes from somewhere other than just TRC, so Syaoran and Sakura get a turn here too.)_

Sakura: _Originally from CardCaptorSakura, Sakura was a 10 year old girl who gets forced by the guardian beast Kerberos (a.k.a Kero) to collect the Clow cards after accidently releasing them from the book they had been sealed in. In this fic, Sakura is a member of the beast-tribe and has the same sort of family she did in CCS. She did however have a very close friend who went on a journey and never came back...Hehehe. Sorry can't say anymore without giving away spoilers._

Syaoran: _Also from CardCaptorSakura, Syaoran starts off as Sakura's most bitter rival, then later a friend then finally the one she loves. CCS Syaoran was very rude to Sakura so I'm going to use the TRC personality more. In the fic, he has a very complicated family life. He has Watanuki as his twin, Gigie (RG Veda) as his mother, Yuko as his adopted aunty (which means he and Watanuki are next in line for the throne) and I have no idea who his dad is. His part of the fic twists and turns a bit, so sorry in advance._

Gigie: A _character from RG Veda (it's Veda not 'Vega', sorry 'bout that). Gigie first appears in the series as the first major female character in the books, and becomes so close to the baby Ashura, that she proclaims herself his mother. Unfortunately it is this devotion to Ashura that gets her killed. I only read RG Veda a few days ago and I __**love**__ Gigie. Since Gigie is such a wonderful mother figure, I thought her being Syaoran's mother would be perfect for the fic. Unfortunately Gigie is dead in the fic. It was necessary for the plot but it still made me sad to write it. She and Yuko were really good friends. She never appears in TRC._

Watanuki: _The main hero of xxxholic, as well as a major character in TRC. In this fic Watanuki is Syaoran's twin as opposed to being Syaoran's other self. Where Syaoran is stronger physically, Watanuki has stronger magic. I'm thinking about writing a xxxholic version of this fic after I finish this one, so Watanuki may have a larger role in this fic than I first thought._

Yuko:_ Everyone's favorite witch from xxxholic as well as a major character in TRC. In this fic, Yuko is the 'queen' of a group of mages in the country of Fahren. Yuko is not dead, but her whereabouts will remain a secret for a while. Teehee. _

Ryuoh: _Originally from RG Veda, Ryuoh is bright, friendly and loves to test his skill against others. Is the first of the six-stars to die and is the only one to be killed by Ashura, himself. Waaahhh! It was so sad!! Ryuoh is surprisingly good at cooking and admires his mother more than anyone else in the world! In TRC, he befriends Syaoran in both the world of Oto and the world of Piffle. In the fic, he befriended Syaoran about 2 years ago and is the only person outside than Syaoran's family that gets along with Yuko as a friend. In part 2 of this chapter, there will be a bonus story about how he and Syaoran met. I love Ryuoh __**way**__ too much..._

Ray-earth:_ The god of fire in MagicKnightRayearth. Ray-earth takes the form of a giant, horned wolf with the talons of a bird, and serves the magic knight Hikaru. In TRC Ray-earth is Syaoran's kudan. In this fic, Ray-earth is just a regular wolf that serves as Ryuoh's animal companion. Ray-earth still likes Syaoran a lot though._

Touya:_ Sakura's older brother in both CCS and TRC. Is very protective of his little sister and because of that hates Syaoran's guts. Well maybe not that much, but they do argue quite often in CCS. In CCS he was able to see spirits until he gives his magic to Yukito so Yukito wouldn't disappear. In the fic he is still Sakura's brother and as one of the beast-tribe can summon and talk to birds. Mokona is the bane of his existence and often plays pranks on him._

Ashura (the elder):_ Originally from RG Veda. In RG Veda there are two Ashuras. Both appear in TRC and both are called Ashura. The only way to tell them apart is the ears. The younger Ashura, who shows up in the world of Shara, is the one with long elf-like ears where as the older Ashura is the one Fai knows. The only thing I'm able to write about Ashura in the fic without giving away spoilers is that Fai __**does not **__hate Ashura. I'm trying to follow the books as much, so_ _it's more Fai afraid of Ashura having to be killed because of his madness. It's the same thing in RG Veda. Which is kind of sad because Ashura isn't evil just completely mad._

Umi Ryuuzaki: _One of the three main characters of MagicalKnightRayearth. Umi has long straight blue hair, and is very honest and hot tempered. She is also very caring (sounds kind of like a certain red-eyed ninja doesn't it?). Umi controls the god of water, Celes, who takes the form of a giant blue dragon (yes, it is Kuro-puu's kudan). She never appears in TRC. In the fic I made her a nurse ...and I have no idea why... If I were one of the patients I think I would run away, but at the very least Fai is sure to be healthy before he leaves..._

**World list.  
**_(This stuff may be obvious but I wanted to write it down just in case.)_

Humans: _All the people in the world of this fic have magic of some sort. The magic one has depends on a variety of factors, for example one family might have magic for flying, or maybe people who are born in a certain area develop a certain talent. Some magic is genetic and people with this type of 'natural' magic can sometimes use spell magic as well. Below is a list of the magic already in the fic._

Normal magic:_ The magic most people have. Usually very weak and uncontrollable. It's uses vary among who uses it, but is generally not very useful. Kurogane has the ability to 'feel' danger as well as emotions tied to some sort of physical object (the emotion has to be pretty strong for him to feel it, though)._

Mages and Spell-magic: _Spell-magic is magic that can cast using spells. Fai can use almost all types of magic except healing magic. Sakura can use weak healing spells and Syaoran has powerful fire-based magic but can't control it too well yet. People who can cast spells without being taught spells are called 'mages'. Mages generally have much longer life-spans than normal people._

The Beast-tribe: _'Natural' magic-users. Beast-tribesmen magic is carried through the blood and does not have to be taught to one who has it. The magic can manifest in one of two ways. In the 1__st__ kind, a person may have animal characteristics such as feathers or furry ears. Those of the 2__nd__ kind can talk to as well as summon certain animals. Ryuoh can summon any sort of dog, wolf, fox etc; while Sakura can summon just about anything. Touya can summon birds while Yukito has wings and a few feathers growing on his head. (Because I thought it would look cute. o///o)  
All beast-tribesmen in the 2__nd__ type have an animal companion that not only lives as long as the master but usually has some sort of extra ability it can use to protect its human. _

Seer: _Someone who can sense something that is happening far away or something that is about to happen as well as see things like spirits. Dream-seers are the most versatile as they can not only see and affect someone's dreams, but can attack someone's mind while they sleep. Tomoyo and Watanuki are both dream-seers._

Chobit-clansmen: _'Natural' magic-users. Chobits can control electric-powered devices as well as contact other Chobits through their minds. Unfortunately because a Chobit's mind is so similar to a computer, a Chobit can be easily brain washed and can even have his/her memories converted into data onto a computer screen. Those who have even a little Chobit blood are susceptible to this weakness._

_**So that's it for chapter 3, part1.  
What do you think of the fic so far? Are the bonus features any good or are they annoying? Is there anything you want explained or added to the fic?  
Please let me know by reviewing and telling me what you think.**_

_**It may take me a while to write part 2, as some of the most important storyline events are in part 2, so I want to make sure I get it written down just right. Not to mention I'll be posting a few other fics very soon, meaning I'll have to work on those as well and ....yeah, I'm feeling kind of overwhelmed at the moment. Sorry about that...**_

_**Thanks to anyone who reviews. This is Lil' White Raven signing out.**_


	5. Chap5: Travelers and their Reasons,part2

Author's note_**: Part 2 is finally here! Yay! Thank you so much to all those who reviewed as well as to all those who have been reading this story so far.  
Thank you **__**Cuenta**__**!!!! I need your corrections more than you will ever know...  
Part2 ended up being much longer than I expected it to be so now there is a part3!!! I apologise in advance for any parts of the fic that seem too long or short because of that.  
And if Fujitaka sounds a bit too 'wordy' please try to keep in mind that most of what Fujitaka is saying is a traditional speech that is always recited during Beast-tribe ceremonies. I'm also trying to write the story as realistically as I can, which means lots of paragraphs that go on and on about nothing. Sorry about that...////**_

Disclaimer: As much as I would like to own Sakura, Syaoran and all the other wonderful characters from Clamp...I don't, and most likely never will. 'Sobs in corner'

_**  
Chapter 3: Travellers and their Reasons, part 2**_

_Kyoto (a.k.a Shirasaki city)Kyoto Public Hospital_

_Fai looked at the door nervously as he heard voices on the other side.  
"He's in amazingly good health after yesterday but I recommend he takes it easy for a while. Don't be too rough, ok?" _

"_Fai must take medicine called easiness! Chii understands!"Instantly the door to the room burst open._

"_Chii?! Chii!!" Fai felt himself grin like an idiot as she raced into the room._

"_FAI!!!"_

_Fai flinched as what looked like twenty tons of blonde Chobit launched herself off the ground and slammed into him. Instantly his ribs screamed in protest._

"_Looks like some of your rips are still broken. You should stay put for a while."  
Chii looked up nervously; her face full of concern._

_Fai smiled at her sweetly then glanced up at the blue-haired nurse and forced a grin onto his face (which was now growing paler by the minute.)_

"_What makes you think that Miss Umi?" Fai carefully pried Chii's arms from around his waist and jumped to his feet. "See? Look, I'm as good as new-"  
Fai's voice cut off with a yelp as a hand lightly jabbed his side._

"_If you're injured and a doctor tells you not to move, then don't move, idiot!"_

_Fai frowned and turned to face the interloper then froze as sharp, blood-coloured eyes glared into his own._

'Those eyes! They were the same as the ones in the dream! Then where was the person with the beautiful voice? Was she realas well or just an illusion?

"_Oi! Could you quit looking at me, already? It's really starting to creep me out."_

_Fai felt his face flush as he realised he had been staring. Smiling he turned to Chii and pointed vaguely in the tall man's direction._

"_Umm...Chii? Who is this..?" Fai felt relieved as his voice came out without any traces of his previous confusion.  
The last thing he wanted was Chii or anyone else to start worrying again._

"_This man is Kurogane!" Chii's cheerful voice snapped Fai out of his depressing thoughts. Smiling, the blonde girl jumped up off the edge of the bed and ran over to the tall man's side. "Kurogane is a kind person! He's the one that saved Fai and Chii from the bad men, and gave Chii his coat when it got cold!"_

_Fai tried desperately not to laugh as the man's face began to turn an interesting shade of red. "For the last time, I'm not a nice person! I only lent you that coat, because you freezing to death would undo all the work I did yesterday."_

_Chii's eyes widened with surprise. She turned to Fai, confused.  
"Why is Kurogane upset? Did Chii say something that hurt Kurogane's heart?"_

_Fai grinned at her sweetly. "It seems Kuro-chuu here gets embarrassed when he is being complemented. Maybe you should start insulting him instead." _

"_What did you just call me?!" Fai found himself giggling as Kurogane loomed overhead, red-eyes glinting dangerously.  
Fai beamed. "Kuro-chuu! Kurogane is too manly a name for someone as cute as you. Kuro-chuu suits you much better. Or maybe you'd prefer Kuro-tan?" He turned away slowly and put on a pondering expression._

_If Kurogane had been simmering in rage before, he was now well and truly at boiling point. _

"_The name is Kurogane! And what the hell do you mean by 'cute'?! I'm an imperial warrior of Nihon! A ninja! What the hell about me is 'cute'?!"_

_Fai paused and looked at the 'ninja' carefully as the man scowled down at him.  
Short spiky hair covered the top of the enraged warrior's head while a sleeveless black top hung on the man's shoulders. Strong, powerful muscles rippled under lightly tanned skin. By the man's waist hung a sword with a beautifully ornamented hilt._

_All of this, combined with the man's beautiful blood-coloured eyes, made Kurogane a stunning sight. Fai then felt a sudden jolt of panic as he realised he was blushing. Instantly he slammed the plastic mask back into place. _

"_Everything about you is cute, Kuro-rinta! Except maybe that scowl of yours. So scary! It makes you look like a guard dog or something. Well, considering that job of yours, that's probably a good thing. Right, Kuro-wanwan?"_

_The enraged growl that emanated from said 'Kuro-puppy' only helped to confirm the mage's opinion. Fai smirked in triumph then hopped back and called out to Umi (who had been watching the whole thing with a bemused look on her face)._

"_Well aside from Kuro-pon's species issue, am I free to go? I have a few bruises but other than that, I think I'm well enough to leave. And besides," Fai added, a sad look etched onto his face. "Chii and I left all our stuff at the hotel and somehow I doubt that the hotel owner will look after our stuff for free."  
Chii nodded in agreement. "Chii and Fai still have to go to the library too. Chii wants to look at books with Fai."_

_The blue-haired nurse walked over and sighed. "Well you certainly act well enough to be let go. But unfortunately with all the trouble going on right now, letting you go while you're still injured would be just plain stupid. Not to mention likely to lose me my job."_

_Fai looked melancholy for moment then gave the girl a hopeful look. "Would I be allowed to leave if I had someone to look out for me?"_

_Umi nodded reluctantly. "If that person gives their word to protect you it should be alright. And of course I would have had to have met them first."_

"_Hmmm...Who to ask? I think I know just the person..." Fai grinned as both Chii and Umi looked at him in confusion. Still smirking he turned back to face a certain red-eyed warrior._

"_Say Kuro-puu? How do you feel about being a bodyguard?"_

_***************************************_

_Oto, village of the Fahren/Nihon borderline._

_Sakura and Mokona cheerfully bounced down the stairs and smiled as an old man's face gazed up at them warmly._

"_Sakura-chan, I see you're cheerful today. Are you excited about the journey?"  
Sakura grinned wildly as she wrapped her arms around her great-grandfather in a hug. Giggling, Mokona hopped onto Sakura's shoulder and joined in. _

"_Ojii-san, I'm 16 now! I'm going to get my coming-of-age bracelet, I'm going on a journey, I'm going to meet new people and make new friends! I might even get to go to a festival or a big city or something! I'm so happy I could barely sleep!"  
Mokona nodded her head in agreement. "Mokona is excited too! Mokona and Sakura will get to eat all sorts of new food and Mokona can't wait!"_

"_Ah! Food! I have to eat quickly or else I'll be late for the ceremony!"The old man chuckled and sat down in his usual chair as Sakura launched herself towards the breakfast table._

"_Everything on that plate over there is your favourite Kaijuu, so you better stop making monster noises and start eating before I decide to eat it myself."  
Sakura glared up angrily at the source of the noise. _

_Touya, who had been leaning next to the wall, stretched his arms out and walked slowly towards them; a large green-feathered eagle perched on his shoulder. He leaned over; grinned evilly and reached out towards the food. _

_**Her **__food._

_Sakura growled in her brother's direction._

"_Hey! After what that little rat of yours did to me last night, I think I'm entitled to a bit of a free meal. Don't you think, Kaijuu?" He grinned as Sakura fumed with rage. _

_The eagle on his shoulder glanced at him for a moment before pecking him on the head._

"_Ouch! Windam! What was that for?! Don't you want some too?!"Touya's eyes were wide. Sakura giggled as Windam glared at her brother angrily._

"_Thank you, Windam. Onii-chan seems to forget that stealing food is a crime. Maybe next time you should peck him on the nose!"_

_Windam turned back to Sakura, stretched out a wing and carefully pulled out a single feather with his beak, before flying over and dropping it in her open hand. Sakura flushed with happiness as Mokona clapped excitedly at the sight of such a wonderful gift.  
"Sakura is so lucky! Windam has such pretty feathers; Mokona wants one too!"_

_Sakura smiled and thanked the bird as she grabbed her chopsticks and began to 'inhale' her food. She glanced up at her brother warily. "You can eat if you want Onii-chan. Just don't steal the food that Otou-san made for me. Otherwise I'll ask Windam to peck you again."_

_Touya snorted. "Well you better make sure you don't choke on that all that food."_

_Sakura nodded as Mokona giggled. Sighing, Sakura gave Mokona a reproachful look._

"_Moko-chan, you still have to apologise to Touya about last night."_

_Mokona froze then looked up at Touya slowly, guilt etched all over her face. _

"_Umm...Mokona is sorry about putting bugs in Touya's bed sheets. And about the rubber snake Mokona put in the closet and-" Suddenly Mokona's eyes filled with tears.  
Sniffing, the little furball rubbed her face in her paws.  
"Mokona is sorry about all of those pranks but Mokona only did them to make sure that Touya wouldn't forget Mokona while we were gone!"_

_Seeing Touya's unsympathetic glare, Mokona yelped and ran to Sakura's arm. Suddenly the front door opened and a tall boy with white-grey hair and glasses walked into the room. Fluffy grey wings on the boy's back fluttered softly as he walked over and placed a hand on the small manju-bun's head. _

"_Sorry Mokona. Maybe next time you want Touya to remember you fondly, you'll just have to be nice and give him a present like everyone else."_

_Both Sakura and Mokona looked up excitedly. "Yukito-san is here too?!"_

_Yukito smiled at them warmly. "Of course I'm here. Today's your birthday! Someone had to come and see if Windam was doing his job of making sure Touya was behaving himself." The two giggled as Touya glared at his boyfriend angrily._

"_Sorry Touya, but it is true. Besides if it hadn't been for me checking up on you, Akuzuki-san would have." Sakura and Mokona both shuddered in sympathy as Touya visibly paled. Nakuru Akuzuki wasn't a bad person really. It was just the way she latched onto Touya's neck every time she saw him that was disturbing._

_Seeing their reactions, Yukito laughed cheerfully and turned back to Sakura. "I saw Fujitaka-san a few moments ago. He was busy preparing for the farewell ceremony at the western gate." _

_Touya pulled out a chair beside his sister and sighed. "Yeah, Oto-san did say he would be the priest running the ceremony today. He wanted to do all the preparation work himself so he ended up having to wake up really early to get everything organised. I don't think he's had breakfast either. Though aside from that," Touya smirked in Sakura's direction, "I can't help but wonder if you'll even get that bracelet of yours. After all, you sure as hell aren't mature enough for it yet. I wonder if they even bothered making you one."_

_Sakura launched herself out of her chair, teeth bared. "Liar! Otou-san said that I was practically an adult already!"_

_Touya shrugged. "Well regardless, it looks like you'll never gonna find out." Sakura tilted her head to the side. _

"_Huh? What do you mean?"_

_Touya smiled and pointed at the clock. "You're late. The ceremony started a minute ago." _

"_Agggghhhh! I was supposed to be there at 9:00! Otou-san is going to be so mad at me!" Grabbing Mokona, Sakura leapt from her chair and raced out the door._

_As Sakura's panicked shouts drifted off into the distance, Yukito, who had remained silent, felt a trickle of sweat drip down the side of his face. Slowly he turned to face a smirking Touya._

"_Umm...Touya...you know it's only 7:30 right? I know because I saw the time on the town clock only a few minutes ago."_

_Touya grinned as Yukito stared at him in confusion._

"_I took the liberty of fast-forwarding all the clocks in the house by a few hours." Touya chuckled. "It was either this or spending the next few hours trying wake her up. Trust me Yuki; she'll thank me for it later."_

_Yukito looked at him blankly then sighed. "Well if I don't hurry, I'll be late too." The grey-haired boy paused by the door and smiled cheerfully. "And you Touya, had better be on the lookout for an attack of karma. It always strikes from above you know."_

_Touya blinked in confusion as Yukito walked briskly out the door. Then yelped in pain as Windam pecked him on the head._

_*************************_

_Sunshine reflected off street signs as laughing children ran past. Kurogane scowled as the world shone cheerfully back at him, glinting so very painfully against his eyes._

_It was a perfect day. A wonderful day. The kind of day children enjoyed themselves and people sang in the streets._

So why the hell was he the only one feeling like he should bash his head through a wall?

"_Kuro-rin! Come over here! Chii and I are hungry and we don't know what to eat!"_

_Oh yes. __**Him.**_

_Now he __**knew**__ why the blonde reminded him so much of Tomoyo. Both of them had blue eyes, were absolutely stunning in the looks department, and were both evil, conniving bastards who seemed to enjoy nothing more than making his life a living hell!_

_Kurogane winced as the blonde smiled at him and shouted another butchered version of his name. He looked at the cheerful mage's expression and winced as light seemed to reflect off it, right into his face. _

"_Why the hell is the world so damn bright when you're around?"_

_The ceaseless babble paused for a moment as blue eyes stared into his own. "Huh? Kuro-chi? What are you talking about? Are you feeling unwell?"  
Close behind the annoying mage, the small Chobit girl looked up at him concerned._

_Kurogane growled sharply and glared at the mage angrily. _

"_Don't fake concern if you don't mean it, mage. It's annoying and you've just made the brat over there all worried again."_

_The mage looked at him tearfully; a look Kurogane just KNEW was fake.  
(Seriously, if that damn mage kept faking expressions all the time, Kurogane vowed to punch the stupid dumbass in the face!)_

_A (FAKE!!) tear rolled down the blonde's face. "Can't I be worried about our 'valiant protector'? After all, it's thanks to you that Chii and I are free from the terrifying prison that is Umi-san's hospital ward."_

_Kurogane groaned. Oh yes. How he had gotten into this mess in the first place._

**-------****  
**_**"Say Kuro-puu? How do you feel about being a bodyguard?"**_

_**Kurogane felt himself twitch as the seemingly innocent question left the blonde's mouth.**_

_**Within seconds of talking to the blonde mage awake, Kurogane had come to the very logical conclusion that the man was insane.**_

_**The evidence?**_

_**First: He was being annoying cheerful for someone not on some sort of drugs or been permanently brain-damaged.  
Second: Despite the horrific ordeals of the previous day, the blonde twit was happily jumping and hopping about, whilst screaming about libraries.  
And finally: The stupid git had the nerve to rip apart and butcher the name of a tall, dark bloodthirsty warrior who, not only had his sword right next to him but had, if fact, killed people right in front of said git.**_

_**How anyone would be willing to chance, that he, Kurogane, wouldn't instantly cut them to bits after such an event was beyond Kurogane's knowledge. How any such person had managed to survive past the age of 6 was a miracle.**_

_**He glared at the insane mage warily.**_

"_**I don't know. What's the pay and how long do you intend to hire me?"**_

_**The blonde blinked at him, a smile plastered on his face. Kurogane's eye began to twitch again as he realised how fake that smile looked.**_

'_**Almost like he practiced it in a mirror or something'  
He shuddered at the thought.**_

"_**Well..." Kurogane glanced up as the mage leaned towards him, mischief written all over the madman's face. "About 3 days, give or take."**_

_**Kurogane looked at him disbelievingly. The mage grinned.  
"That self-healing spell I cast a while back still seems to be working and I heal pretty fast naturally so 3 or 4 days should be more than long enough for me to fully recover." As the mage spoke, Kurogane noticed the Chobit girl nodding in agreement behind him.**_

God, what was wrong with these people?!

_**Instead of voicing these thoughts, he glared. "The payment?"**_

_**A sly grin wormed its way onto the mage's face.**_

Oh crap...

"_**As for payment..." The mage leant forward and grabbed Kurogane's hand. He then turned away and battered his eyelashes in what Kurogane was sure was meant to be a seductive fashion. "I'm sure the two of us could always work something out..." The mage's lips lightly brushed against the warrior's jaw. The ninja's face instant flushed red. "...though if I have a choice I'd rather not be 'underneath' for the first few times. Hope you don't mind."**_

_**Kurogane's face burnt with embarrassment as the Chobit girl looked up at the two in complete confusion. Glancing over to the nurse, he growled as the poor woman burst out laughing.**_

_**The blonde smiled at him warmly. "So, do we have a deal?"**_

_**Kurogane instantly pulled away from the insane mage and glared at him in disgust. Another burst of laughter from the nurse caused Kurogane to snarl.**_

"_**You! SHUT UP!" He shouted at the blue-haired girl then fixed his wrath-filled eyes on the mage. "And YOU!!" The mage took a step back. "You can stay**__**and rot here for the rest of your life for all I care! Even a worm would have better things to do than get insulted by a perverted weirdo like you! Good bye and good riddance."**_

_**Kurogane turned to leave the room in a huff when a small hand pulled gently on the back of his shirt. He looked down sharply and froze as a pair of innocent amber eyes stared up at him.**_

"_**Did Chii do something to make Kurogane mad? Is that why Kurogane doesn't want to come and read books with Chii and Fai? Is this all Chii's fault?" The girl's eyes blinked up at him sadly then began to fill with tears. Kurogane's eyes widened in horror.**_

**Oh god. Not that. Anything but that!**

_**A sense of defeat already pressing down on his head, the warrior bent over and sighed. Feeling his face go even more red than before; he gently patted the girl on the head.**_

"_**I'm not mad 'cause of you, brat. I'm mad because that 'Fai' friend of yours is perverted wacko and is really giving me the shits."**_

_**Chii looked up at him confused.**_

"_**Why does Fai make Kurogane want to go to the bathroom? Is Kurogane ill? What is a wacko? What does perverted mean? Chii doesn't understand."**_

_**Kurogane twitched with anger as more laughter from the nurse filled the room. Angrily he glared in the psychotic mage's direction. The mage smiled.**_

"_**Well Kuro-sama. Since you obviously didn't like the sound of my last offer how about this: If you guard us for a while, I'll explain all of what you just said to Chii and ask everyone who overheard all that not to say a word. If you want I'll even throw in some money while I'm at it."**_

_**Kurogane burned with rage for a moment then sighed as Chii looked up at him hopefully.**_

"_**Fine, wizard. But I want a lot for this."**_

**-----------------****  
**_Kurogane glared as the mage tugged on his hand excitedly.  
"Come on Kuro-tippy! Help us decide on what we should all have for lunch!" Next to him the Chobit girl clapped her hands in excitement as she spotted yet another famous landmark._

_How protecting these morons went from escorting them to the hotel and library (the hotel to change out of their hospital clothes. Stupid vain mage.), to walking around to city on a lark, Kurogane guessed he would never know._

_He sighed. Maybe lunch was a good idea..._

_******************************************_

_Sakura scowled as she waited patiently for the farewell ceremony to begin. _

_After running though the whole village at top speed in order not to be late, she had found out from Yukito (after a good 20 panic-filled minutes waiting in the village square) that the __**evil**__, cruel-hearted creature that dared to call itself her brother, had set all the clocks in the house (including the one in her room!) an hour and a half early._

_She had then been asked by her Otou-san to wait in the shrine, while he and Yukito finished all the ceremony's preparations._

_She growled in frustration._

_Touya was __**so**__ lucky that she wasn't going to be home for a whole year. She grinned evilly. A year was just about long enough for someone to settle all their worldly matters, wasn't it? Well it would have to be long enough for him, because the second she got back...  
Mokona watched in silence as Sakura clenched her fists in rage then hopped onto Sakura's shoulder._

_She glared angrily at the wall for moment longer, then sighed._

_One whole year before she would see Otou-san, Yukito-san or Onii-chan again.  
Even with the chance of meeting __**him**__ again, the sudden feeling of melancholy that had washed over refused to disappear.  
Quietly Sakura picked Mokona off the ground and sighed._

"_Hey Moko-chan? Do you think we'll get lonely on this trip? You know...like being away from Onee-chan and stuff." Mokona flicked her ears back and forth as she pondered the question thoughtfully. Finally the small fluffball turned and wrapped her tiny paws around Sakura's hand._

"_Mokona is sure to miss everyone in Oto at least a little, while we're gone, but Mokona won't be truly lonely. After all," Mokona smiled reassuringly. "Mokona and Sakura will still be together. So Mokona is looking forward to our adventure!"_

_Sakura smiled and held the rabbit-like creature close to her heart.  
"Thanks Moko-chan. I was starting to feel a little nervous..." Sakura felt her face flush in embarrassment. "Guess the idea of being without them for so long is kind of scary."_

_Mokona smiled and flicked her ears forward. "Sakura shouldn't feel so down. Sakura still has the birthday gifts from Yukito and the others in her bag to remind her of home." She then glanced up at the jade-eyed girl and giggled. "As well as the dress that Sakura's Otou-san made. Sakura looks so cute in that! Maybe Sakura will meet a handsome boy on our travels and fall in love-love!"_

_Sakura's face reddened further as she glanced down at the dress she was wearing._

_Alpaca-wool, dyed light pink made up most of the dress, while thicker, black strands of iron-nettle string were woven onto the fabric's trim. Next to her a white back-pack sat, waiting to be used. Beside it was a long pink cloak._

_Sakura blinked in surprise then reached out and hugged the cloak tightly. Unlike all the other clothes she was wearing the cloak was old and worn. She smiled softly._

"_Okaa-san's cloak..."_

_A sudden knock on the door broke her trail of thought. She quickly wrapped the cloak around her and clicked the neck clasp shut as her brother's voice echoed through the door._

"_Oi! Kaijuu! If you don't hurry up and get out of there, you're gonna miss out on a certain bracelet of yours."_

_Instantly the door swung open as Sakura raced out, glaring at her brother._

_Touya grinned then froze as he saw the cloak hanging around the girl's shoulders._

"_That's Okaa-san's..." Sakura glanced back at the cloak and blushed as Mokona jumped onto her shoulder; all previous rage at her brother forgotten._

"_Otou-san gave it to me alone with all the other clothes. I was surprised when I saw it; Otou-san always said it should only be worn when the time was right." Sakura shifted uncomfortably as Touya smiled sadly._

"_I guess he thought that Okaa-san would want to go with you. I think she'd enjoy that too. Kami knows I want to..." Sakura's eyes widened as her brother's voice trailed off._

"_You want to come too? But you already went on your journey with Yukito-san a while back, didn't you?" Instantly Touya's face changed from its normal brownish tone into a deep scarlet.  
"You're imaging things, Kaijuu. By the way, where's all your bags and stuff? Last time I checked, your room was full of things you wanted to take."_

_Sakura giggled as her Onii-chan tried desperately to change the subject.  
"Moko-chan is carrying it all. Moko-chan has all those amazing abilities, remember?"_

_Suddenly, said furball's ears twitched upwards. "Sakura! The ceremony is starting! We have to hurry there now!"_

_Both Sakura and Touya jumped. "We're coming!"_

_************************_

_Sakura felt her heart pound as she stepped up onto the ceremonial stage. In front of her, Fujitaka, her beloved Otou-san stood in full ceremonial dress. Misataro, the small brown mouse that was his animal companion, sat silently on his shoulder. Seeing Sakura, the man smiled gently. Sakura felt her heart leap to her throat._

_This was really it. In less than a few hours, she would be gone from the village, friends and family she had known all her life, on a quest to learn all she could._

_She gulped._

_Why was the idea so terrifying now that it was actually happening?_

_A small tap on the shoulder grabbed Sakura's attention._

"_Remember, Sakura has Mokona. Sakura will never be alone as long as Mokona lives." Mokona's calm voice filled Sakura with relief. Thankfully she ran a hand through the small creature's fur. Mokona rubbed against Sakura's hand for a moment then frowned, her ears flicked backwards. "Besides, Sakura has to look for __**him**__." Jade eyes widened then looked down sadly. _

"_Of course... I had almost forgotten."_

_A loud cough jolted them back to reality. Red faced, Sakura's blush only deepened as a certain annoying Onee-chan called out from the crowd._

"_Hurry up Kaijuu! Some of us have to work for a living, you know!"_

_Ignoring him, she stood in front of her father. Fujitaka smiled at both of them and clapped his hands. Immediately the small crowd watching fell silent._

"_I thank all of you that have come here to witness today's coming-of-age ceremony. Today is Sakura Kinomoto's, my daughter's, 16__th__ birthday and as such, both she and her animal companion Mokona are ready to prove to us that they are worthy of becoming adults in the eyes of our tribe."_

_Sakura glanced back in shock as mixed cheers of animal and human calls echoed behind her. Wide eyed, she realised the entire village had come to watch. Instantly her face reddened._

_Fujitaka waited calmly for the noise to settle down before continuing._

"_I'm glad you are all excited as well. Now," He turned to Sakura. Sakura's heart pounded rapidly. On her shoulder, Mokona clenched a paw around a strand of Sakura's hair._

"_Sakura-chan. Mokona-san. Are the two of you ready to hear the rules of your coming-of-age journey?" The two nodded.  
"Your first priority on this trip is to watch and learn about the world around you while practicing our tribe's laws. During this time it is forbidden for you to return to the village... But writing letters home is a tradition so remember; I want to hear from the both of you at least once a week." Sakura blushed as laughter rang out behind her. Fujitaka reddened slightly as Mokona giggled.  
"However aside from our usual laws, 3 customs in particular must be observed."_

_Sakura tensed as she heard the serious tone to her father's voice. Biting her lip to keep any nerves at bay, she breathed in deeply and looked up into her Otou-san's eyes. _

"_You ready?" Sakura and Mokona both nodded. Fujitaka smiled at them warmly. "Alright then. I'll begin."He then pulled out a long delicate looking scroll from under his arm and began to unroll it. _

"_Three laws...three laws...Ah! Here it is!" He coughed to clear his throat._

"_The three laws of the Beast-tribe, as written by Karura and Garuda of the first clan._

_First: Should you ever be helped by someone on your journey or otherwise, you are tasked with the responsibility to help that person in order to repay that debt._

_Second: When outside of the village, you are to observe and follow the laws of whatever country you are in.  
And finally: Should you become close to someone, whether they are of the Beast-tribe or not, you are tasked with the very important duty of protecting that person from any harm as best you can. Of the three laws, the third is by far the most important and should be followed even at the risk of breaking the other two." Fujitaka smiled and rolled the scroll back up._

"_These are laws that our tribe has followed for generations. If you are to be a true member of our tribe; whether you are animal, human or otherwise, you must follow and respect these laws that have been passed down for generations. Are you ready to accept these laws as your own?"_

_Sakura nodded eagerly. She would do everything she could to make her family proud of her! Next to her, Mokona did the same._

_Fujitaka smiled. "Good. I suppose you're ready for your talismans then."  
Yukito (who had changed into ceremonial clothes earlier) hopped onto the stage and passed Fujitaka a box. Fujitaka nodded his head in thanks and opened it. Inside, a dark coloured bracelet sat next to a small strangely shaped ear-ring._

_Sakura gasped as he lifted the bracelet out of the box.  
Small intricate carvings covered each of the dark antler slates that made up the bracelet's side. Two thick cords held the thing together as polished edges shone in the sunlight._

"_Those carvings each represent every type of animal we've seen you talk to." Sakura glanced up at her Otou-san in confusion then smiled as she spotted the slate with a carved Mokona on it._

"_Otou-san? Did you..?" Fujitaka shook his head and smiled._

"_No. Actually your brother carved it. He was panicking right up until yesterday that he wouldn't finish it on time. That's why he was staying up so late each night. He also crafted this ear-ring for you, Mokona-san." Fujitaka beamed as he fastened the clip onto Mokona's ear. "Your name is etched onto the back of it."_

_Sakura stood stunned for a moment then glanced back at the crowd, to see Touya glaring to the side, a blush threatening to spread across his face._

_Sakura smiled._

_Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around Sakura's waist. She screamed then looked up wide eyed as she realised who it was.  
"Ah! Nakuru-san! You shouldn't grab people like that! I thought my heart was going to leap out of my chest!"_

_The tall brown-haired girl laughed cheerfully. "Sorry Sakura-chan! But you just looked so cute and adorable I had to cuddle you! Like this!" Sakura shrieked as Nakuru wrapped her arms even tighter around the jade-eyed girl and cooed happily._

_Mokona, who had finally gotten used to her new ear-ring giggled and joined in on, the newly dubbed 'hug-fest'._

_After a few moments of having the life squeezed out of her, Sakura finally pulled out from underneath the older girl's grip. Glancing up at the girl's long brown hair and the large black butterfly wings sprouting out of the girl's back, Sakura smiled._

"_Nakuru-san! Are you the one who'll be escorting me out of the village?!"_

_Nakuru grinned. "Of course! Touya-kun really wanted to do it, and so did Tsukishiro-kun, but I was faster! Now Touya will have to admit how wonderful I am!" As the girl laughed manically, Sakura smiled softly and took one last glance at her home. Carefully she slipped her new bracelet onto her wrist. _

"_Guess it's about time to go then..."_

_************************_

_Like her brother, Yukito and all other members of the Beast-tribe after their bracelet ceremonies, Sakura was quickly escorted out of the village without time for any farewells. Nakuru, who was still raving about Touya, cheerfully informed her that once she was out of the village she would be picked up by someone Fujitaka had arranged, and then taken to a place where she could begin her journey. A few moments later a merchant caravan appeared and picked her up. A few hours later she was dropped off at a crossroad and was given a map of the nearby area. _

_Sakura looked at the map and smiled. While there were almost 5 different towns within a day's walking difference, the only one Sakura wanted to visit was a town to the north, Clover. Glancing at the sun, Sakura noted its position and began to head down the North-east road. On her shoulder, Mokona hopped with excitement._

_Sakura looked at the scenery around her and felt like jumping herself. Unlike the thick, shrouded forests surrounding the village, the area surrounding the road was open and foreign. Flowers grew on the grass that sat on the base of rocky mountain-sides on either side of the path._

_A few minutes later Mokona hopped off her shoulder and bounced ahead giggling. Mischievously she poked her tongue out._

"_Sakura is too slow! Mokona wants to race under the bright sky!" Grinning, Sakura raced after her and picked the little fluffball off the ground.  
"Moko-chan should know by now that I'm the faster runner! Now it's punishment time!" Mokona giggled again and squirmed as Sakura tickled her ruthlessly._

"_No, Sakura! Ha-ha! Stop it tickles, teehee! Mokona surrenders!" Grinning Sakura released the fuzzball only to have Mokona bounce away again. Mock scowling, Sakura pointed a finger at Mokona and tried not to laugh as Mokona pulled a horrified expression. "Sakura! Look behind you!!!" Mokona pointed at something behind her. Sakura laughed. Moko-chan was so cute when playing!_

"_SAKURA!!! It's not a game anymore! Run! Move now!" Sakura felt a chill as Mokona ran towards her. Instantly she looked back.  
Three men on horseback raced towards them. With a jolt, Sakura realised that the red colour running down the side of one of the horses was blood._

_Grabbing Mokona and hiding her underneath her cloak, Sakura run off the main road and scrambled up the side of the rock face. Almost to the top of the ledge, Sakura gasped as a rope wrapped around her torso, tightened and pulled her away from the rock._

**Slam! **

_Sakura gasped as she slammed onto her back, landing on the road path. Under the cloak, Mokona yelped in fear and began to shake as the horsemen leaned over them._

_Even without Mokona's warning, Sakura could tell these people were not nice people. Still gasping as stinging pain reached her arms, she winced as she saw the spur-marks slashed across the sides of each of their horses. The horses whinnied at her in distress. Cold, murky auras surrounded all three._

"_Well lookie here. What's a sweet little thing like you doing all alone and unadorned all the way out here? Waiting for a handsome bunch of fella's looking for a good time, perhaps?" The first rider, the one who lassoed her, grinned as Sakura pushed herself off her back and into sitting position. Nervously Sakura shook her head. Voice still shaky, she answered softly. "I'm sorry sir but...all of your horses have been hurt very badly. If you don't clean their wounds and let them rest for a while they might get very sick and may even die!"_

_The other two looked at her puzzled for a moment then laughed. Sakura felt a mixture of shock and hurt sting her heart. The second rider jumped off his horse and placed a hand under her chin. Sakura wriggled under the man's stare. He grinned.  
"Well, what a nice little girl you are. Most little girls don't know their horses that well. Maybe we've got ourselves a runaway? From a farm or stable house, perhaps? Oh well, it doesn't really matter..."_

_Sakura yelped and tried to move back as the man reached out towards her. The third man (the others had also dismounted) grabbed the second's hand and shook his head. "Don't be so hasty. If she is a runaway, I'm sure her family will be willing to pay quite a bit for her return. Of course, if they fail to pay up fast enough, we could always use her 'services' for a while."  
The first man interrupted. "I think having her as a cute little house-keeper would be a fine idea. Since she knows so much about her animals, it might save us having to replace our horses all the time. It's always such a hassle when they drop dead back at the den." _

_Trying desperately to ignore what the men were saying, Sakura bit her lip as the first man's horse; a young black stallion began to shake. With arms still tied, she leant over, grabbed a handful of her magic and tried to clear her mind._

"**Are you alright, Runner-of-plains?**_"Sakura thought-spoke then smiled in relief as the horse looked at her startled. "_**How does a two-legged one know our speech? Are you a plain-runner in disguise or maybe a mountain-runner?***_" The horse sniffed at her curiously. Sakura shook her head. _**"No, but I am a friend. Do not worry Plain-brother, I will help you and your sisters escape from these men if you want."**

_The young horse shook his head and snorted. "_**Girl should run. The two-legs who have us now are cruel. They came and killed our old two-legs almost twenty moons ago. They have already ridden many of our herd to death. They would not hesitate to kill you as well. If girl runs now, even if they make us go after you, girl can escape! We would run too, but should they catch us trying, they will beat us again."  
**_Sakura shook her head. _**"I can't escape; one of the men has a rope around me. But the only thing holding you is fear. If I make a distraction, will you run? If you do that I might get enough time to free myself and you'll be able to get away."**_ Sakura waited tensely as the young stallion and the two mares thought it over. Finally the stallion nodded.  
"_**We will run. But please make sure to free yourself too. You are the first two-leg that we have ever heard talk properly. It would be a shame if your kind becomes extinct before having young."**

_Sakura tried not to blush madly at the stallion's statement. "_**I'm not the only two-leg who can talk to your kind. Back home there are lots of us who can speak like this."**

_One of the mares, a chestnut with a black main and tail sighed. "_**I would love to go to your home place then. But it would still be sad if you were to become prey after helping us.**_" Sakura nodded. "_**Don't worry. I'll be fine. Just be ready to run, alright?**_" _

_Sure that all the horses understood, Sakura glanced into her cloak. Mokona looked up at her nervously. Making sure that the men were still busy with their discussion, she whispered the plan into Mokona's ear. Finally Mokona nodded._

"_Mokona can try, but if something goes wrong Sakura will be helpless. Sakura knows that right?" Sakura nodded.  
"Sorry Moko-chan, but it's the only chance we have."_

_Lowering her ears, Mokona opened her mouth and out came a small knife. Carefully Mokona stuck her head out of the cloak, then quickly hopped out and place the knife in Sakura's hand. She then raced up the side of the cliff._

_A few minutes later the men finally stopped talking and glanced down at Sakura. The first rider easily lifted her off the ground. He smiled at her sweetly._

"_I really think this one is gonna be good to us, fellas. She's been all nice and quiet the whole time we've been talking about what we were gonna do to the little lady. I'm glad you both saw reason." The other two growled mutedly. Sakura felt quietly relieved.  
At least, if she didn't escape they weren't going to do anything too bad to her. But all the same..._

"_NOW MOKO-CHAN!!!!" Sakura yelled at the top of her lungs._

_Instantly a huge rush of air was sucked out of the valley. As the bandits milled about in confusion, Sakura kicked the first man's arm, slashed open her ropes and motioned for the horses to run. Immediately she tried to run in the opposite direction but was dragged back as the third rider grabbed her arm. Sakura watched in horror as the second rider easily hopped up the side of the rocks and grabbed Mokona from behind.  
Wailing, Mokona bit down as hard as she could on the man's hand then gasped, as the man held a knife to the creature's face._

_Hauling her back the third rider swore as he noticed the bracelet on Sakura's arm. The man glared._

"_Looks like we've been fooled. The little tramp here is a anima-freak! Good thing we didn't decide to have our way with her; it would have been the same as doing an animal!"_

_Sakura glanced back as the first man, who had been chasing the horses, returned covered in sweat. Panting he shook his head. "All three of them were too far away. Even if I did catch 'em, they'd be too far gone to ride anymore." _

_Angrily the second rider snarled. "Figures you'd be useless for the job! Now what do we do with the trollop?! I'm not touching her now; and even if we sell her, I doubt we'll get much." Gripping Mokona by her ears, he glared at both of them menacingly. "The furball might fetch a good price at the markets but since I'm the one who caught it, it's mine. So what you lot decide to do is up to you."_

"_Moko-chan and I will die if we're separated! Please don't take Moko-chan away from me!" Sakura trembled at the force of her outburst. All three men stared at her, different expressions on each.  
The second man gave her a look of contempt as the first man gave her a look that almost looked like pity, but unexpectedly it was the third man's face that was filled with rage._

_Snarling, he hauled Sakura off the ground by the neck of her cloak and raised his fist, eyes full of hatred. "You little bitch!" Sakura gasped as the cloak twisted tightly around her neck. Mokona's high pitched screaming cut through the air as the other two tried to make the third let go. Sakura felt herself begin to black out._

_Suddenly Sakura felt herself drop to the ground. Gasping she looked up and stared as a boy about the same age as herself, stood calmly in front of her, Mokona held carefully in his arms.  
In front of him, the men lay sprawled out on the road a good two or three feet away from where they had been standing earlier._

_The boy glanced at her quickly, smiled and turned back as the bandits pulled themselves off the ground. Amber eyes glinting, he glared at them sternly._

"_I would prefer it, if you would just stop this now."_

_***************************************************************************************_

_**Bonus story:**__ Why a name?*Set 4½ years before main story-line*_

_Syaoran sat quietly as he watched cherry blossoms flitter through the air around him. Nearby, bright green leaves sprouted from the ground as bird song echoed all around him. _

_Normally the sight of a brand new spring would fill Syaoran with a sense of joy...but not today. He sighed softly._

_Like all other thirteen year-olds of Fahren, Syaoran had earlier that day, undergone his very first magical examination. Yet unlike all the others, Syaoran had been called out after the tests by the high mages, to be told that his magic was violently warped and that he would never be able to control his own magic normally._

_Syaoran bit his lip as a tear rolled down his face._

_The last thing he had ever wanted to do was shame his family; and with things the way they were, he had no doubt in his mind that he had done just that._

_It had been hard enough for his mother to simply be accepted into Fahren as it was, without her son having cursed magic.  
And what would aunty Yuko think? Would she be mad at him like all the high mages seemed to be?_

_Syaoran wiped the tear drop off his face._

_All of that was bad enough, but the thing that scared Syaoran the most was that Watanuki might have the same problem.  
Even though the legends always said that twins always had magic opposite one another, the idea that Watanuki might be cursed because of being his twin, scared Syaoran witless.  
He glanced at the clock tower nervously. Watanuki's results wouldn't be released for at least a couple of hours and until he found out what they were, Syaoran knew he wouldn't be able to relax._

_A sudden chiming of the bell-tower made Syaoran leap to his feet. Instantly he wiped any remaining tears off his face and ran towards the clock tower as fast as he could._

_Unlike many other cities or towns, the great brass-bell found in the clock tower of Fahren, was only rung during important or widely awaited events. Even though he had no clue why the bell was ringing, Syaoran knew he had to be there._

_Seeing the castle walls, Syaoran turned and ran towards the entrance. Turning around the corner, Syaoran gasped as he found himself bash into something and fall back. Rubbing his head, Syaoran glanced up and realised with a shock that he had run into another person._

_Instantly he dropped to his knees and bowed as deeply as he could._

"_Ah! I'm so sorry! I didn't realise you were there! Are you alright? Did you get any bruises? I'm so sorry-" The sudden sound of laughter cut through Syaoran's babbling apologies. Looking up slowly Syaoran blinked in confusion as the person he had run into, a brown-haired boy with bright green eyes smiled at him in amusement._

_Cheerfully, the boy held out his hand. Seeing Syaoran's puzzled expression, the boy grinned._

"_Need any help getting up from down there?"_

_Syaoran flushed and shook his head. The green eyed boy gave him a warm smile._

"_Well that's good then. My name is Ryuoh by the way. What's your name? Tell me, and I'll forget all about you running into me like that."_

_Syaoran bowed deeply. "My name is Syaoran. Umm...I'm very sorry about bumping into you like that; it's just that the bell was ringing and-" Syaoran dropped silent as Ryuoh placed a hand over his mouth. Startled Syaoran staggered back as Ryuoh burst out laughing again. Finally, after a few good minutes of non-stop laughter, Ryuoh lent against the wall and grinned manically at the other boy. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Syaoran stepped back nervously._

"_God you must be fun to live with! Tell me do you apologise in your sleep too? Or is this just something you Fahren mages do to new-comers?" Ryuoh's face was red with lack of breath. Syaoran looked at him confused._

"_Umm...Ryuoh-sama? What do you mean? I'm sorry, I don't know-"  
"There! You said it again! I already told you; you can quit apologising already. If you keep that up, your jaw will fall off." Syaoran blinked as Ryuoh flicked him on the nose._

"_And I said my name was Ryuoh. Not Ryuoh-sama or any of that nonsense." Syaoran froze as the boy suddenly looked past him, over his shoulder. Instantly, Ryuoh brushed past him and ran over to what Syaoran thought looked like an over-grown dog. Arms wrapped around the animal's neck, Ryuoh looked up at him and grinned._

"_Come over here Syaoran! I want you to meet my animal companion, Ray-earth. He says that you smell interesting and nice." Curious Syaoran walked over and ran a hand through the canine's soft furry coat. Seeing a smile on the younger boy's face, Ryuoh looked at him gently. "It's good to see you smile like that. I was beginning to wonder if you knew how."_

_Shocked, Syaoran felt his eyes widen. Instantly he looked at the ground. Ryuoh swore and whacked Syaoran on the back roughly. Yelping Syaoran looked at the boy in surprise. Ryuoh pouted._

"_Don't go back to being depressed after you smiled so cutely! I only just arrived here for training! I don't want my first friend here to be mopey all the time!"_

_Syaoran blushed. He looked up at the green eyed boy in surprise. "A friend? Me? But we just met each other?! But you don't know me at all! What if it turns out that you don't want a friend like me, one with cursed magic? What if..." Syaoran trailed off as Ryuoh merely smiled at him. _

"_You remind me so much of a friend of mine back home." Ryuoh smiled, eyes shining warmly. "Back in Oto; that's my home, I'm of the beast-tribe by the way; she always worried and got scared whenever someone told her she couldn't do something. But whenever she was actually put to the test, she would always do much better than everyone else."_

"_That's the reason I left, actually." Ryuoh stood up and grinned as Syaoran looked at him curiously. "I took the bracelet my Okaa-san, my mother, made for me and left to make myself a better person. To train until I get worthy of going back there. It's like my Okaa-san always said, 'As long as you try, you won't regret anything'. Don't you think life is more fun that way?"_

_Syaoran paused for a moment then smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yeah. If I train, and get my magic under control and train hard everyday; then maybe my mother and aunt won't have to feel so embarrassed having me around."_

_Ryuoh looked at him as another smirk spread across his face. "You realise you just said 'train' twice in the same sentence, right? But aside from that, you don't mind us being friends do you? 'Cause Ray-earth and I both really like you, despite what you might think. So what's it gonna be, yes or no?" _

_Syaoran nodded eagerly. "Of course. I'd be honoured to call you my friend. Umm...if I come here tomorrow, will you be here?" Ryuoh nodded. "Then, may I bring someone along with me? He's my twin brother Watanuki. I don't know if he'll be able to come, but I'm sure he'd like to meet you." Ryuoh smiled and looked at Syaoran, his eyes suddenly seeming much older than they should have._

"_Of course you can bring him, Little dog. After all, any brother of Little dog's is sure to be interesting. Anyway I've got to go now. Seeing as this my first day of working as a guard, I'd better not be late. So bye." Ryuoh smiled and waved as he walked away._

_Suddenly realising that 'little dog' was referring to him, Syaoran called out after him.  
"Why did you start calling me little dog all of a sudden? I mean, I don't mind but-"_

_Ryuoh turned back and grinned. "I'll tell you tomorrow! But I'll give you a hint: It's in your name!"_

_Syaoran stared after him in complete confusion._

_.........................................._

_The next day, Syaoran excitedly dragged Watanuki to meet his new friend._

_Less than an hour after talking to the inspiring Ryuoh, Syaoran had rushed home to find that Watanuki was, not only was un-cursed, but seemed to have powerful spell and seer magic as well as the almost impossibly rare talent of being able to enter the spirit realm. And somehow, Syaoran wasn't surprised at all. Watanuki had always seen ghosts; it had simply been that no-one (except Yuko, Gigie and himself) had ever believed him.  
Syaoran smiled. He was glad Watanuki had done so well. Maybe with a little practice, Syaoran would get as powerful as him too._

_A shout ahead snapped Syaoran out of his thoughts. Leaning patiently against the wall, with Ray-earth lying down next to his feet and a huge, blunt looking sword strapped to his back stood Ryuoh grinning softly. Waving, he lifted a box into the air and shouted at the top of his lungs.  
"I made lunch for everyone so I hope you enjoy it!!!"_

_Instantly Watanuki grabbed Syaoran's hand, ran over to the green eyed boy and smiled at him charmingly, his eyes sparkling. "Hello. My name is Watanuki. Tell me, have you ever thought of taking up a job that involves being a slave to an evil witch queen, who requires you to slave away day and night just so she can fill her belly? If you have, then please...take that job away from me!!!!!!"_

_Ryuoh took one look at Watanuki's over dramatic face and laughed._

_................................................._

"_So did you manage to figure out why I decided to call you 'Little dog'?" Syaoran paused as Ryuoh looked up at him hopefully. Next to them, Watanuki blew gently onto his piece of omelette and looked at the two curiously._

_Finally Syaoran shook his head. "No...I didn't. I asked around everywhere what my name had to do with the nickname you gave me, but no-one seemed to know. Will you tell me now, because I really have no idea..." Watanuki nodded in agreement._

"_Answer that and then tell me why my nickname is 'Hissy cat'! Syaoran can be polite about these sorts of things, but if I'm going to be ridiculed with a dumb nickname I want to at least know why!"_

_Ryuoh looked at the twins, one with a hopeful expression and the other with an enraged one, and sighed. He held his hands high in defeat._

"_Fine! Fine. I'll tell you what you want to know." Picking up a ball of onigiri, Ryuoh smiled mischievously as he ripped it half and handed some of it to Ray-earth. Ray-earth bit down on it slowly. _

"_I picked the name 'Little Doggy' for two reasons. First: it was because of when you showed up." Seeing their confusion Ryuoh smiled. "Well when you ran into me I was calling Ray-earth here. You may already know this, but as I'm one of the beast-tribe I can summon various animals, beasts etc. But what I summon best, most of all are dogs. And well, when you ran into me like that and then kept apologising over and over again, it just somehow reminded me of a small, wide-eyed puppy that had no one to play with. You should have seen your face; you went so red!"_

_As Syaoran forfilled Ryuoh's expectations and went as red as cheery, Watanuki leaned over, excited._

"_Well Ryuoh-san? What's the other reason? I really want to know!"_

_Ryuoh looked at the two in disbelief. "You really can't figure it out? 'Syaoran' means 'little wolf'!" Watching both twins flush with embarrassment, his grin widened. "I can't believe you two didn't figure that out. It was so obvious."_

_Watanuki, still red in the face, leaned over and sheepishly tapped a finger on the edge of his plate._

"_Well why did you choose 'Hissy cat' as a nickname? Watanuki doesn't mean cat too, does it? Oh, I hope not...I get enough stupid jokes about my name as it is, without anything else being added onto the end of it." Watanuki's wail suddenly told Syaoran exactly the reason Ryuoh had chosen the name. Panicking, Syaoran watched in horror as Ryuoh cheerfully announced it to the whole group._

"_Nope. I chose that name because you're crazy-looking and you screech like a cat!"_

_............................_

_Watanuki's outraged screech echoed throughout Fahren, shortly followed by a certain wolf-summoner's laughter.  
_

_  
_**Character list.**

**Chapter 4.**

Yukito Tsukishiro: _Yet another character from CCS. Yukito is, until almost the very end of the books/anime the biggest rival Syaoran has for Sakura's attention. However when Sakura does eventually confess to him, Yukito turns her down and states that the one he loves is, in fact her older brother! He was also the disguise form of the moon guardian, Yue. In TRC, he appears as the young high-priest who sends Sakura and Syaoran to the witch's shop. In the fanfic I made him a member of the beast-tribe because I wanted to have Sakura grow up in a place as similar to her home in CCS as I possibly could and Yukito is a very important part of that family. Unlike Sakura and Touya, Yukito is not of the animal-summoning variety of beast-tribesmen but instead has grey birds wings and feather in his hair. I think I already wrote that down but still...CUTE!!! XD He helps Fujitaka with all of his shrine duties._

Fujitaka Kinomoto:_ Sakura's father in CCS as well as C!Syaoran's father in TRC, Fujitaka is the kind of person everyone should have as a father. ...actually my dad is a lot like Fujitaka in a lot of ways...it's really kind of scary...  
In the fic, Fugitaka is Sakura and Touya's father and works in Oto as the village's historian and part-time priest. (I just thought he was the only one suitable for the role) His animal companion, Misataro, is from Angelic Layer(anime only). He was named after Misaki. ...Fujitaka just seems to be the mousey type I guess...//////_

Windam: _The god of wind from MagicKnightRayearth. Serves as Fai's kudan in TRC. In the fic he is an eagle with forest green feathers. ...I just wanted to peck Touya on the head. XD_

Nakuru Akuzuki: _Bright, cheerful and with an almost psychopathic tendency to hunt down Touya and cling chokingly onto his neck, Nakuru is actually one of my favourite characters. While she has no appearances in TSR, in CCS Nakuru was a major character in the 2__nd__ half of the series and was later found out to be the disguise form of Ruby Moon, Eriol's version of Yue. In the fic Nakuru has the same butterfly wings that her other form Ruby Moon has. She's pretty much the same Nakuru other than that. Loves cuddles, cute things and freaking out Touya. ^w^_

**Word list**

_Umm...this time it's a description of the country/place's mentioned as well as a few more details on terms, etc_

Non-humans:_ Creatures, who are similar to humans in looks and conscious mind, yet are not human. This does __**not**__ refer to people like Chobits or beast-tribesmen. It instead refers to those who have a completely different body system, such as ghosts, immortals and heavenly-ones. Non-humans can have half-human children but it's generally pretty rare._

Anima-freak:_ A derogatory term referring to Beast-tribesmen, Chobit-clansmen and any other type of human with unusual animal characteristics. Comes from the days long ago, when these types of people were treated cruelly and often oppressed. T.T_

**The things you need to know about my fanfic world:  
**_The fact I haven't even named my fanfic world really says something, huh? Anyway I finally decided I better write this all down before I forget again.  
1__st__: There is no consistent time period for the world of this fic. One country to the North may have electricity while another might be stuck in the stone-age. I wanted to do all the worlds of TRC that I liked and this was the result. Sorry in advance. Maybe I'll make a reason for it in the story later, but not right now.  
2__nd__: I have ideas for everything that I can never ever use!!! For example, lights in Nihon are magic globes that can be bought at $2.30 apiece and last more than 8 years! If you want to know why I take so long writing, it's because I get distracted by useless thoughts like that. 'sighs'  
And finally 3__rd__: Despite the fact that each of the TRC gang have been attacked or been in battle at least once in the fic already, my world is actually quite peaceful. Over all. Not for the main characters. Or any of their friends. ...at least I hope so anyway..._

**Countries:**Nihon: _Based loosely on the Nihon in TRC, this Nihon is one of the most open-minded of all of the countries in the fic world, and has many laws regarding the equal treatment of non-humans and other minority groups. It is co-ruled by Tomoyo and Amaterasu (aka, Kendappa-oh) and has one of the lowest tax rates, etc, etc. It isn't very technologically advanced, but has some of the most disciplined magic users in the world and is one of the few places that encourages both magic and science equally.  
It is also one of the oldest nations and maintains a strict neutral position politicly. Has lots of rocky mountains and thick, lush forests. I want to live there...  
_**Capital city: ****Kyoto: **_Looks sort of like what Kyoto would look like if it had the Chinese New Year's festival all year round. Minus all the modern concrete buildings. For some reason the roads are all roman-style cobbles, while the fountain in the middle of town is distinctly European. The castle is Japanese-style...but is about 700foot tall and is more like the tower of Salvation from Tales of Symphonia than the actual Shirasaki castle. I've had this design in my head for ages so I might draw a picture of it and post it on DeviantART at some point. Maybe._

Fahren: _A strange mix between Oto and Recourt. Many of the buildings look like the ones in Recount and lots of things have designs of Suns and moons all over the place, but most of the residential area is like Oto; nice neat streets with Sakura trees all over the place. The castle Syaoran lives in is gothic-European style and is surrounded by fort-like walls. The courtyard is your typical European courtyard; except that many of the trees are Sakura trees. I call Fahren a country, but it really is only the size of a small city with a lot of forest surrounding it. Fahren is actually a very new country; Yuko was elected as queen by the other mages simply because of the level of her magic power and many of the laws of said country (when Yuko isn't watching everybody 24/7) can be easily abused. Almost everything in Fahren depends on magic. Originally I was going to have Gigie be the queen and introduce Yuko much later on but it just wasn't as fun to write...  
Basically this is the country I like the look of, but would hate to actually live in._

Oto, village of the beast-tribe: _Yes, I have to type the whole thing. Of all the places I've made so far the one I've thought the least about is this place. All I really know about it is that the shrine Sakura sat in, was an old moss-covered Shinto shrine and that the house Sakura lives in, is a super old version of the house she lives in CCS. It also has a tree growing off the veranda on the roof. The ceremonial stage is built half of stone and the other half wood and bamboo. Painted in the centre, is a strange paw-like picture. The village is hidden away from the main roads and is deep in the forest. Very hidden, ninja village style. But most of the patterns and designs on the buildings are Northern-American Indian. ...I will do fanart on this eventually! I promise!!  
If I hadn't thought of this place just before I started typing, the Beast-tribe would have all been nomads. O~O'_

Mihara:_ Since none of the TRC characters, other than Tomoyo, ever go here I don't have to write much. Very technologically advanced, but does not have any weapon more advanced than a blunderbuss. Is even more friendly towards non-humans than Nihon, and is said to actively promote friendship between non-humans and humans. Is ruled by Ichiro Mihara and his wife, Shuko Chitose (I couldn't pick between to two characters...). When I finish this fic, I plan to do an Angelic Layer sequel set here. Something big will happen here, but I have yet to figure out the details..._

_**Well that was fun to write. Sorry about not including the country in the prologue, but if I wrote anything about that more than a good half of the story would go down the drain...**_

_**Do not worry about part 3. Unlike last time, I've written more than half of it already so it should only be about 3 or 4 days before I update next. Actually it'll be a minimum of 4 days, because I'll be helping my dad move stuff from Sydney to the mountains, and we won't be able to log onto the internet until we get back. Sorry. ^^' Anyway, hoped you liked it. Please read and review. **__****_


	6. Chap6: Travelers and their Reason,part3

Author's note_**: Yay! Part 3!!!! It's finally the end of the 3**__**rd**__** chapter!!! ...I'm sorry for talking as long as I did to write it. I said I'd take 4 days...  
I think it's been a year. ;  
I'm sorry. I don't think I'll ever be able to apologise enough. I have no idea when the next one will be done, either. It may take even longer. I hope you all aren't too angry with me. There'll be a lot of skips of time and switches of POVs in the story from this point on, so if you see ...... cutting a line through the page, it's a sign I'm changing the perspective or that time has passed.  
Thanks to **_**cuenta**_** and all those wonderful people who review. I love reading reviews; they make me feel all fuzzy inside.  
Umm...aside from a little fluffy stuff every now and then, the real KuroFai stuff won't be happening for many chapters. It'll build, but right now it's barely fluff. Sorry about that. Tomoyo will often drift in and out of the storyline, what she says is often filled with hints of what might happen later, so yeah...Listen to Tomoyo! She knows all!**_

Disclaimer: I don't own any manga; let alone the wonderful works of CLAMP. One day I will write a manga, but it will not be Tsubasa. 'sighs'

_**  
Chapter 3: Travellers and their Reasons, part 3**_

_Syaoran forced his eyes open and blinked around confused, as he glanced at the leaves around him. Seeing his movement, a nearby group of birds chirped and flew away.  
Syaoran stared. Where was he exactly..?_

_Glancing down from the tree branch he had been sleeping in, he winced as the events of the previous night caught up with him. He glanced around and sighed._

_Ryuoh had promised to come after him; but knowing Ryuoh, it could be days before he showed up. Time which Syaoran couldn't afford to waste._

_After carefully making sure Hien was still strapped to his waist, he stood and hopped down to the ground. He scanned the area around him with magic._

_Despite all the commotion he had coursed, it seems no one had followed him. At least, no one with magic he could sense anyway._

_Gently he placed a hand on the tree that he had slept in (an oak) and thanked it for holding him all night. A rustling of tree branches made Syaoran smile.  
Sure, maybe the tree couldn't hear him, but it was always nice to imagine it could. Besides Watanuki always said trees liked to be thanked and who knew, maybe it would pay off being nice to trees one day._

_He glanced up at the sky and frowned._

_True, he had escaped, but now what? Where should he go to look for Watanuki? Where did Yuko send him anyway? For some reason he couldn't remember the name of the town (most likely because Watanuki had been screaming about Yuko's alcohol addiction, and Syaoran had blocked his ears simply to avoid being deafened). He just hoped Watanuki and Ryuoh were alright. _

_He lent against the tree and sighed._

_This was the first time he had ever been outside Fahren by himself and judging by how high the sun was, he had already wasted enough time as it was. He sighed and slumped slightly. If he didn't get completely lost within the first hour of walking, it would be a miracle._

_A sudden loud wailing sound made Syaoran jump. Wincing as the sound grew louder, he realised with a shock that it was the sound of someone screaming. Instantly Syaoran ran towards the sound as fast as he could._

_Just like Watanuki, Syaoran had always found it impossible to ignore someone else's suffering. Even the idea of someone being frightened or in pain and not doing anything to help them made Syaoran feel sick. It was just __**wrong**__ somehow..._

_Syaoran gasped as he burst out of the woods and had to grab onto a nearby tree branch to avoid running straight over the edge of the rock face._

_Still gasping from that small brush with death, he leaned over the ledge and gazed towards the source of the noise. Below him, a group of men stood in a circle, muffled shouting from each of them filling his ears. Syaoran stared in confusion. _

_Where was that scream coming from? Judging by the voice, Syaoran could have sworn it was a girl's voice. _

_A small flash of white made Syaoran blink. _

_**Was that...a rabbit..?**_

_Loud shouts form the men reached his ears. "Let go of her you idgit!! If you kill her, she'll be worth nothing!"  
"Stop it, she's just a girl! Calm down! There's no point hurting someone without a profit!" _

_Syaoran's eyes widened as the rabbit creature opened its mouth and wailed as loud as it could in human tongue._

"_Stop it! Please don't kill Sakura! Mokona needs her! Please!" _

_As tears spilled down the small creature's face, Syaoran saw why it was screaming. A brown haired girl about his own age struggled as a man held her off the ground by her collar. As small hands struggled weakly against the cloak's fabric, Syaoran realised with a stab of horror that the cloak had twisted around the girl's neck and was now choking her._

_Syaoran raced into action. Leaping down the cliff-side, he pushed himself away from the rock to control his fall and lunged himself towards them. Swiftly, he smashed a kick into the sides of all three men and caught the wailing rabbit before it hit the ground. Landing another kick to the 'choking' man's stomach, he sent him flying._

_Seeing that his opponents were out of the way, Syaoran looked down at the girl whose life he had just saved. _

_Pale, and still obviously disorientated, the girl's emerald green-eyes blinked at him blankly for a moment then focused sharply as the rabbit came into view. A relieved smile spread across her face._

_Syaoran smiled in return, and turned back towards the now-assumed enemy._

"_I would prefer it, if you would just stop this now."_

_Slowly the three men pulled themselves off the ground. The one who had been choking the girl snarled with rage.  
"Who the hell are who?! Did you come for a beating as well?" Syaoran made no movements and continued to look at the man coolly._

_Spitting, the man lunged forward as he drew a dagger from his pocket. Behind him, one of the men pulled out a pistol, and the third began to back away._

_Closing his eyes, Syaoran breathed in deeply, ducked the swipe of the choking man's dagger and neatly disarmed him with one swift kick to the hand. The loud click of a gun-hammer warned Syaoran of the danger behind him. Swerving to the right, he winced as he felt a bullet graze the side of his face. Instantly a shout rang out from behind him, and Syaoran tripped and fell, face first onto the ground. Realising his danger, he rolled to the left as another gunshot blast through the air, the bullet thudding into the place where his head had been just moments before. There was a strange '__**twang**__' sound and Syaoran looked up to see an arrow smash into the pistol, ripping it out of the man's grip. _

_Syaoran blinked in confusion for a moment then glanced back to see the brown-haired girl stamp a foot onto the dagger-man's back, a long hunting bow with a fresh-drawn arrow in her hands._

_Behind him, the gun-man snarled with anger before spitting and running away. _

_Seeing that Syaoran was uninjured, the girl smiled warmly. The rabbit-like-thing (which had somehow made its way onto the girl's shoulder) smiled warmly and waved its little paws in the air. Syaoran nodded in thanks and turned back to glare at the last man, who had tripped over backwards and was now staring at the three of them in shock._

_Unlike the others, Syaoran didn't feel the same intense feeling of hatred from this one._

_Calmly he stretched out a hand and helped the man to his feet, and ignored the look of shock on the man's face. Bowing slightly, Syaoran looked back to the dagger-man and bit his lip as he realised the man's arm was snapped in two._

_**Damn... I must have kicked too hard...**_

"_Umm...Would you like to take your friend away now? I don't sense any malice from you, so unless you do anything like this again, I don't see any reason to hand you into the authorities." Syaoran glanced back at the girl again and flushed with embarrassment. "Unless you want me to. Do you?" The girl shook her head then smiled; a slight blush tinging her face. _

"_No. It's alright. That one is the nice one. If you make him promise to keep this one in line," She kicked the dagger-man with the heel of her boot, "I'm sure that he'll be good. Right Moko-chan?"_

"_Right!" Syaoran's eyes widened as the rabbit nodded and made a punching motion with its paws. "And if he ever does break his word, Mokona will blast him away with the Nica-cannon!"_

_The man looked up them all wide-eyed and nodded as walked over to his unconscious companion. Pulling him onto his back, he glanced around nervously and glanced towards the girl shamefaced. _

"_Sorry about all this miss. I'll...try...to keep him in line. Though I doubt I can... Thanks for...sparing us all the same." Bowing, the dark-haired man glanced up at the girl one last time before sprinting away as fast as he could._

_Syaoran watched him run off for a moment then turned as the girl's voice called out from behind him._

"_Umm...Hello." _

* * *

_Sakura's heart pounded as her saviour faced her. Warm, amber eyes glowed as thick, almost shaggy brown hair waved slightly in the breeze.  
Blushing slightly with what she was sure was a silly grin on her face, Sakura bowed deeply in thanks._

"_Umm...if you hadn't come just now, that man would have killed me, which would have killed Moko-chan... Thank you so much for saving us. You were amazing!"_

_Instantly the boy's face reddened. "No. Not really. I just happened to be nearby. Anyone would have done the same thing."Sakura and Mokona both giggled as the boy waved his hands in front of him, obviously embarrassed by the comment. _

_Cheerfully Sakura held out her hand and grinned. "My name is Sakura. Sakura Kinomoto of the beast-tribe. Umm...are you travelling to the north?"_

* * *

_Kurogane sighed as he sat on the same bench the previous day, and tried to ignore the now, oddly silent mage._

_After the three of them had argued loudly and pointlessly over what to eat for lunch, the group had finally decided on takoyaki (which gave Kurogane an intense feeling of déjà-vous) and Chii had cheerful jumped up off her seat exclaiming that she would be the one presenting them all with lunch.  
Strangely it seemed that the mage had no over-protective objections (unlike himself) and had let the girl run off all on her own. Leaving the pair of them where they were now._

_Kurogane shifted uncomfortably under the oppressive silence._

_Ever since he had met him (less than 24 hours, but still!), the guy had been an incessant chatter-box.  
To have him fall silent like this for no apparent reason was disturbing._

_And no matter how much Kurogane tried to ignore it, the mage's behaviour reminded Kurogane of Tomoyo's. _

_The way he smiled. His pale almost snow-like skin. The way his eyes sparkled. Even the way he talked!_

_**God, this is creepy! It was almost as if Tomoyo had a blonde male clone!**_

_And what was that mage hiding? The way that guy lied while grinning all the time was beginning to make Kurogane's stomach crawl. Not to mention how curiosity._

_Not that talking to the guy would help with any answers._

_Talking to the mage would be like talking to a parrot. Sure, it might answer you, but the chances of it telling you anything of interest would be rather low.  
But still! The curiosity was killing him!_

_He glanced over to the mage and frowned. _

_Maybe if he somehow tricked the mage in a conversation he would find out why Tomoyo wanted him to protect the two blondes.  
Sure, her orders hadn't been specific, but he knew it had to be these two she wanted protected. Everything pointed to it, and it was typical of how things turned out with Tomoyo involved. _

_Besides, ever since the three of them had left the hospital, Kurogane had felt the familiar prickle of danger travel down his neck. And while that in itself wasn't that uncommon (he usually had to drive off about 7 assassinations away from Tomoyo each day), the fact that he'd only sensed it after the blonde woke up, was something to consider._

_He closed his eyes against the sun's glare. _

_Well, it couldn't hurt to ask the guy a few things..._

_He turned and opened his mouth to talk only to find the mage had an identical expression on his face._

_Blinking for a moment, the blonde stared at the swordsman in surprise then smiled. Kurogane felt his eye-brows twitch as he realised it was yet another fake._

"_What was it you wanted to talk about Kuro-choppy?" The sound of interest in the blonde's voice caught the red-eyed ninja off guard._

"_Didn't you want to talk about something? You had your mouth was wide open and everything."_

_The mage shrugged, his hair glinting brightly in the sun. "My question isn't that important. It can wait until you're done." _

_Kurogane glanced over to direction the Chobit girl had run off to. _

"_Aren't you worried about that little girlfriend of yours? From what I've seen so far, she isn't exactly the most complicated spell in the book and after yesterday, I would have figured you'd be super protective of her right now." Inwardly Kurogane kicked himself._

_Of all the questions he could've asked to get information, he had to ask such a stupid one! Why?! This wasn't going to help him at all!_

_Trying not to growl at himself, Kurogane flinched slightly as the blonde burst out laughing. The ninja raised an eyebrow._

_**...Well that hadn't exactly been the reaction he'd been expecting...**_

"_Forgive me for assuming that such a stupid mage might have a soul! You know, most people would actually think about what I said and get concerned about the little ditz, not laugh about it like it was the best joke they'd heard all year! Seriously, you have a really sick sense of humour, you know that?"_

_Under the warrior's annoyed scowl, the mage sobered. Smiling sheepishly, Fai ran a pale hand through his golden hair._

"_Sorry Kuro-rin. I wasn't laughing about Chii being in danger or anything. I just found it funny how you made it sound like we were a couple or something."_

"_Aren't you?" _

_Kurogane mentally slapped himself as the words left his mouth. _

_**Like he cared about this guy's personal relationships. Who the hell was he, bloody Shogo Asagi? **_

_Fai grimaced and rested a hand on his knee. Kurogane realised with a hint of surprise that the mage actually thinking about the question seriously. _

"_No. Definitely not. That would be just...weird. Chii is more of a little sister to me than a potential lover." The mage began fidgeting with something on his coat._

_Kurogane sighed mentally. __**Well...he'd started the conversation; he may as well finish it.**_

"_She not your type or something?"_

_A cat-like grin spread across the mage's face. Eyes glinting wickedly, the mage traced a hand along Kurogane's arm. Red eyes scowled._

"_Hmmm...Kuro-sama wants to know my type, huh? Hmm...I wonder..? Does he want to find out the hard way..?"_

_Kurogane batted the offending hand away and gritted his teeth with annoyance._

"_No, I don't. So could you stop being such a twisted little freak and start at least pretending to be normal? Because it's really starting to bug me now."_

_The mage gave the warrior a disappointed look before pulling away, a hurt expression on his face. "Wai...Kuro-wanwan doesn't care about my feelings... What a mean puppy he is!" Kurogane glared._

_**Just great. He'd gone back to being stupid and annoying. Now he wouldn't find out anything. Maybe if he tried a different angle... **_

_Kurogane watched as the mage pulled yet __**another**__ fake grin. _

"_Hurry up and ask your question already before I decide to ignore you again. You had one earlier didn't you?"_

_Kurogane watched with interest as the mage looked up in surprise. Blue-eyes gazed into red for a few seconds then fixed themselves to the ground. _

"_...oh..."_

_After a few more minutes of silence Kurogane felt his temper begin to snap._

"_Well? Spit it out already! Why'd you clamp up like that? It's weird."_

_Fai smiled._

"_Never mind Kuro-tan. It doesn't really matter. I was just thinking how cute you looked just then. Sort of...interesting... I guess. Oh dear... Kuro-sama is blushing now. Was it something I said?"_

_As the mage smirked, Kurogane tried to banish the man's words (and that blush) from his mind and out of existence._

_**Ok. That was really distracting...**_

_Hearing the click of shoes against the pavement, Kurogane looked up just in time to catch the Chobit girl skip into view. _

_Bounding towards them, Chii beamed for a moment then passed them half a dozen packets of takoyaki. Taking a few off the girl's hands, the mage smiled warmly and Kurogane realised with a start that it was the first genuine smile he had seen from the mage all day._

'_**Kinda looks nice on him when the guy actually means it. Pity he doesn't look like that all the time.' **__A flash of irritation flashed through the ninja's mind._

_**Dammit! Why did he even care if the mage looked good or not?**__ He looked at the mage and sighed._

_**Stupid rebellious brain...**_

_Oh well. At the very least that conversation had proved the mage was good at avoiding questions. He was also really good at changing the subject if he didn't like it. That was better than knowing nothing, right?_

_Besides, if protecting these two was what Tomoyo wanted, and if that required him to watch that freak mage and learn all of the man's twisted little quirks, then he would do it. He sighed as he took another bite of his food and watched golden hair shine in the sunlight. _

'_**That WAS what she wanted, wasn't it?'**_

* * *

"_Amazing! __**It's so Amazing!!!**__ Kuro-sama?! Have you ever seen so many books in one place before in your life?! Oh, right... Of course you have; you live here, I forgot. But still! This place is just so incredible! Wai~ I wonder if they have any books on magic... Even the mage temples back in Fe'ore didn't have this many!"_

_Kurogane stared as Fai ran towards the nearest books, babbling and twirling his arms about excitedly._

_Sure, from what he knew of the mage's personality and from the obvious interest in books from both blondes, this reaction should have been expected.  
But knowing something and then actually seeing it were two completely different things._

_Kurogane grimaced as Fai turned back towards him; the man's eyes practically sparkling with joy._

"_Kuro-rinta...I think I'm in love with this place!" Kurogane glared at him blankly._

"_You're only in here after normal tourist hours because I was with you. So if you damage any of the books, I swear I'll go over there and kick your ass!" Ignoring him, the mage giggled manically and dashed towards a large pile of history books._

_Groaning, the warrior turned and looked towards the smaller, slightly less-ridiculous looking blonde. Staring up at him wide-eyed, Chii gripped a picture book tightly to her chest._

"_Will Kurogane read books with Chii while Fai has fun running around the aisles?"_

_Watery amber eyes looked up at him expectantly. Feeling a stab of helplessness, Kurogane sighed, reached over and opened page 1 of said book._

He was so doomed...

* * *

_Fai smiled as he watched as Kurogane began reading along with Chi._

_Despite how Kurogane yelled and snapped at him, Fai liked the irate ninja.  
Even if the timing of his rescue of the two blondes seemed a little suspicious, he seemed nice enough. _

_Pity he hadn't asked why Kurogane had saved them. He'd thought about asking just before lunch...but in the end he had lost his nerve._

_Fai sighed._

_At least Kuro-pon wasn't the __**usual**__ type. The teasing earlier had proved it. Even if he had lied in the hospital, he doubted the man would have lied about his 'intensions' towards the mage when Chii was clearly out of sight. People like that normally jumped at the first invitation while Kurogane had glared at him each time he'd brought up the subject._

_Watching him blush had been fun though..._

_And judging by how pathetically he acted around the Chobit, Fai doubted he was one of __**them**__._

_**Those people.**__ It wasn't likely that they had heard of yesterday's commotion...but if they did... Fai tried not to tremble. _

_If Kurogane was even half as good a fighter as his aura seemed to hint at, having him protecting Chii would take some of the load off his mind._

_He sighed as he flicked through a book of white magic. _

_Healing magic. The one type of magic that he could never wield. Sure, there were lots of people who lacked the ability use such spells; but Fai knew it wasn't for the same reason as him. _

_Chii knew all about his past. It had been the first time he had ever met a Chobit, aside from his mother, and back then he hadn't known about their mind-reading abilities. And strangely, Chii didn't seem horrified by him._

_But that didn't mean she understood the danger. And Kurogane knew nothing at all. Fai almost felt bad at getting the man involved, despite the fact it was a necessity. Of course, he'd feel even more guilty if the man died._

_He flipped to next page and groaned with annoyance. _

_**Thinking warped thoughts like this wouldn't do any good and was just freaking him out. Besides, for all he knew, those guys probably thought he was dead by now.**_

_Hearing Kurogane's extremely annoyed voice read out the words from Chii's picture book, Fai smiled._

_He really hoped those people wouldn't show up._

* * *

_Syaoran smiled as Sakura sat down in front on him. The rabbit-thing, Mokona hopped onto the table and giggled._

_It was amazing how fortunate he was sometimes.  
After telling Sakura he didn't know where he was heading and that he was lost, Mokona had cheerfully announced that the two were heading towards the town of Clover. Which Syaoran luckily remembered was on the way to where Watanuki was headed. (He remembered that bit. Just not the rest of it.)_

_He smiled. _

_Not only had he saved someone's life, he'd also found part of Watanuki's trail. Not to mention it was nice to meet someone else from the beast tribe. _

_He glanced at Sakura's bracelet.  
Unlike Ryuoh's bracelet which was made from bleached-white shark bone, Sakura's bracelet was made from antler and was varnished a dark, almost-ebony colour._

_He wasn't surprised by how different the bracelets were; animal-tribe symbols often differed among families. What did surprise him was the amount of different symbols used on each slate._

_One slate had a snake surrounded by leaves, while another had a bird pictured against the wind. There was even a tree! _

_Ryuoh had once told him that indented slates often showed the types of animals the owner could communicate with. And judging by the fact that every single slate of Sakura's bracelet was indented with different things, Syaoran wondered just how many creatures (and plants) she could talk to. _

"_Hey Sakura!" Syaoran looked up suddenly as he realised he'd been lost in his thoughts again. He felt his cheeks redden._

"_What is it Moko-chan? Did the waitress come with the food already?" Sakura's big green eyes shone at Syaoran cheerfully. Syaoran shifted uncomfortably._

_Seeing Sakura's eyes like that reminded him too much of Ryuoh. ...which was creepy, considering the first thing he'd thought when he saw Sakura smile was how pretty she was (something you really don't want to think about someone when you're comparing them to your best same-gendered friend). He blinked the disturbing thought out of his head as quickly as possible and once again tried to focus on the real world. _

"_Sakura still hasn't asked our hero's name yet." Mokona turned to Syaoran; flicked her ears forward and grinned evilly. "Sakura is normally loud but since she likes you she's gone all shy."_

_Both teens instantly turned a bright shade of red. _

"_Moko-chan!!" Huffing for minute at the small fuzz-ball, Sakura quickly remembered her manners and turned back to Syaoran, a light blush covering her face. "Sorry about that... but I would like to know your name."_

_Syaoran smiled._

"_My name is Syaoran..." He scrambled for a false last name. "Lee. Syaoran Lee, of Fahren."_

_Sakura clapped her hands, her eyes shining with amazement. _

"_Wow! Syaoran-kun, you're from Fahren?! Is it true that Fahren has so many mages that there are lamps in the street that are powered just through magic? And that there's a giant magic bell that only rings during weddings and huge celebrations and glows? And that the castle there is made entirely of big heavy stone?!"_

_Syaoran nodded, slightly stunned at the girl's change in personality. Sakura was still 'wow-ing' and 'ohh-ing' when she suddenly paused, her cheeks pink._

"_Umm...sorry about that... I only started my journey today so I'm still not sure how to behave outside yet... I'm still finding it strange not to be under trees."_

_Syaoran nodded in sympathy. "Please don't worry Hime, your behaviour is fine. I've also only been travelling for a short while so I'm finding things a bit strange as well."_

_Syaoran paused when he realised Sakura's eyes were wide and Mokona was hopping with excitement. He blinked with confusion._

"_A Hime? How cool! Syaoran thinks Sakura is a princess!"Mokona waved her little paws and giggled as Syaoran's face flushed crimson red._

"_No! I didn't mean to say that! It's just that you look like one! Or you remind me of one or something..." Syaoran felt his face grow hotter as he realised this wasn't helping his argument. He bowed his head down. "I'm so sorry...I said it by accident. I didn't even realise I'd said it until you pointed it out to me." _

_Sakura and Mokona smiled at each other as Syaoran lowered his head apologetically._

"_That's alright Syaoran-kun. A friend of mine; one I'm looking for right now actually, he used to call me the exact same thing. He always said that even though he hated titles and that sort of thing, I always seemed to remind him of those brave princesses in the stories. It's actually kind of amazing you would say the same sort of thing!"_

_Mokona nodded in agreement. "If Syaoran wants to, he should call Sakura that. It sounds cool coming from him. After all, Syaoran did save Sakura like a shinning white knight!"_

_Syaoran couldn't contain the blush on his face as Sakura beamed at him. Instantly a wave of guilt struck him hard._

_Admittedly, he had only lied about his name...but somehow, lying to this girl made him feel like the world was crashing down. _

_And it was so stupid to feel this way. The less she knew about him, the safer she was. With everything that had happened, it was very likely that Fahren soldiers were going to come after him. And with Yuko gone, who knew how they'd treat people they regarded as 'friends' of a traitor. _

'_**No.'**__ He thought as the waitress placed their drinks on the table. __**'It would best for her if I leave as soon as possible. So that's what I'm going to do."**_

* * *

_Sakura smiled as she watched Syaoran take a quick sip of his lemonade._

_She really liked being around him. His hair, his eyes, his honesty and even the way he quietly gazed up into space every now and then, made Sakura's heart flutter._

_It was similar to the way she had felt about Yukito back when she'd been about 10.  
Just before her 11__th__ birthday, she'd had bravely asked to be alone with him, confessed her feelings, and had her heart completely shattered when he admitted to being in love with her brother. _

_She glared at her ice-cream toped chocolate drink. _

_No...That had not been a nice memory...though she had been rather happy when Yukito and Touya had hooked up. _

_But being head-over heels for him had sort-of been fun, and seeing as there was no ultra-cool, over-protective, boyfriend-stealing brother running around, Sakura was quite pleased with this development. Except..._

_Mokona glanced up as Syaoran got up and went to the counter to pay for their drinks._

'_**Except I still don't know where he's going, or if he'd let me go with him.' **__Thought Sakura gloomily. __**'Maybe if he's travelling further north I can go with him...but if he wants to go south...'**_

_She sighed, then jumped slightly as Mokona pinched her on the wrist._

"_Ouch! Moko-chan! What was that for?!" Mokona looked up angrily at her mistress and sighed._

"_Mokona was trying to talk to you, but Sakura's head was in the clouds. So Mokona helped bring it down!" _

_Sakura felt a bead of sweat trickle down the side of her face as Mokona's little glare continued._

"_Sorry Moko-chan. What was it you wanted to talk about?" Mokona flapped her ears and smiled; Sakura instantly forgiven._

"_Mokona was just wondering if Sakura is going to ask Syaoran yet." _

_Sakura looked at Mokona confused. Mokona looked up at Sakura in frustration and groaned._

"_Did Sakura forget already? Rule #1 of the Beast-tribe: Pay back debts! Sakura and Mokona were both saved by Syaoran, so now Sakura and Mokona need to thank him somehow. Did Sakura's brain turn completely into mush when she went all lovey-dovey?" _

_Ignoring the comment about her brain, Sakura inwardly kicked herself. __**Hard.**_

_How could she have been so stupid?! She'd been told only just this morning! But...if she needed to pay off a debt and didn't have any money...that meant she could stay near him! Actually she'd have no choice but to stay near him until she repaid him. But either way, that had to be a good thing right?_

_......._

_Mokona watched as Sakura's face as it changed from embarrassed to happy, to hopeful and slightly worried, then back to love-sick happiness again.  
She twitched her ears forward. _

'_**Yep. My human is definitely gone with the wind.' **__She glanced up as Syaoran returned to the table, and sighed when she realised Sakura was still in her 'floaty mode'. __**  
**__Remembering pervious times Sakura had gone into 'floaty mode', Mokona decided to take matters into her own paws and bounced over to Syaoran's side of the table. _

"_Syaoran! Syaoran! Sakura wants to know what you need help with!"_

_Syaoran blinked confused as Mokona jumped up onto his shoulder and began to tug gently on his hair._

"_What? Umm...why?" Sakura, hearing Syaoran's voice, instantly snapped out of floaty mode._

"_It's...It's because! Umm...we need to repay all our...debts and you saved our lives and...We owe you..."_

_Mokona slammed a paw to her forehead as Syaoran calmly struggled to decipher what the green-eyed maiden was trying to say._

* * *

"_And so you see...We need to stay around you until we can help you with something that's worth the equivalent of two lives. We have to repay the amount exactly...so if there's anything you can think of, we'll help you with it!" _

_Syaoran bit his lips as Sakura looked at him determinedly. Instantly he shook his head._

"_I'm sorry, but no. You two being alright is all I wanted in the first place and to ask for anything more would be selfish of me."_

_Sakura shook her own head and grinned._

"_It's alright. It's part of the beast-tribe law. Mokona and I want to help you. Right Moko-chan?" The creature nodded firmly._

"_Sakura and Mokona owe Syaoran two lives worth of debt. If Mokona and Sakura don't pay it back, then Sakura and Mokona will no longer be members of the beast-tribe and will eventually lose all our power... Then Sakura and Mokona won't be able to talk anymore and then Sakura would be sad."_

_Syaoran's eyes widened with confusion._

"_Lose your power? You mean being able to communicate? But why?" _

_Sakura smiled warmly. "Because people can only understand other people when they listen to and put their trust in them. It works the same way for us too. The rules aren't 100% unbreakable...but if you never upheld them, how could you expect anybody to trust you? That's the reason why almost every beast-tribe person is a good person. Because if we weren't, we'd never be able to summon a thing, and therefore we wouldn't be the beast-tribe!" Sakura nodded as if agreeing with herself then turned to Syaoran, her eyes sparkling the same way Watanuki's did whenever he was cooking._

"_And that's the reason we have to help you! Because you helped us! Nothing on Gaia could make us feel otherwise! We have to help you with everything we have!"_

_Syaoran slowly felt his resolve begin to shatter._

_It was obvious that the two of them really wanted to come, and they might be useful at tracking down Watanuki...but! It was so risky. What if they got hurt or in danger because of him?!_

_He glanced back at Sakura's excited face while Mokona patted him on the back and giggled unsympathetically._

_Syaoran slumped forward onto the table. He knew when he had been beat._

* * *

"_And in the city with no people, I met the one just for me. And that person feels that I am the person just for him, not because of what I can do but because I am me. The End. Are you happy now!?!" Kurogane grumbled as he read the last few lines of the book to an enthusiastic, smiling Chii._

_Chii nodded, picked the book off the ground and slipped it into what Kurogane now dubbed 'the borrow bag'._

"_Yes. Chii is very happy. Chii is happy that Chii got to read books with Kurogane! Chii is a bit sad that Fai didn't read with Chii...but Chii is still happy!"_

_Kurogane winced as he heard the blond repeat that sentence for the 4__th__ time in less than an hour. (And what's worse, __**she **__**really**__** meant it.**__)_

_He glanced back to the borrow bag and then to the also recently dubbed '__**Return to where you got it from 'cause you don't want to read that. No, really you don't!**__' bag._

_Seriously, where the hell had that girl found all those magazines?! The Nihon library didn't even have a section like '__**that**__' as far as he knew. Not that he'd ever for look for it if there was one.  
And aside from that... What was with those picture books? Picture books were meant to be happy and cute and for little kids and stuff, not so bloody serious and depressing that you wanted to eat comfort food for a week! And __**all**__ the books she'd found had been like that! Well... maybe not the last one. But it __**felt**__ depressing. And how did she manage to find so many like that..?_

_He looked at Chii, feeling a little disturbed as she cheerfully tried (the key word here being __**tried**__) to lift the books off the ground. A cloud of dust puffed up into her face and she sneezed, her hands cutely covering her tiny nose. She gazed up at him wide-eyed._

_No...He wasn't going to think about it. Asking himself questions on how a girl like this had managed to find books like __**that**__ would send him paranoid for sure._

_Glancing at the clock, Kurogane stood up and looked around for the mage. After not instantly spotting him nearby giggling his head off, Kurogane swore under his breath and turned back to the Chobit, a bored look on his face._

"_Well that's it for today kid. The Library will be closing soon so you should go and borrow those books of yours. I'll go look for that idiot of a mage." As Kurogane turned to walk down the nearest corridor of book shelves, a tiny hand gripped Kurogane's arm._

"_Kurogane is going the wrong way. Fai is down that way." Kurogane glanced back as Chii pointed determinedly in the opposite direction. He gave the girl a curious look._

"_How do you know? He might be up this way." Chii shook her head and pouted._

"_No. Fai is this way. Chii can tell. Fai is Chobit like Chii, so Chii can feel it when Fai is nearby. Fai is happy too; he's read lots of interesting books and is planning on teasing Kurogane."_

_Kurogane's eyes widened as he registered what Chii had said._

_No wonder the mage and the girl seemed close. Chobits could practically read one another's minds when they were in a close enough range. It all made sense now. Kurogane was suddenly filled with a strange sense of relief, sort of like the other day when he had realised that Ojiro Mihara was just a kid..._

_He instantly pushed that thought away from his mind._

_Another quickly took its place._

"_Hey kid." Chii smiled up at Kurogane. "If that idiot's a Chobit, then why are his ears normal like mine? I thought all Chobits had furry ears like yours." Kurogane waited as Chii suddenly seemed to take an intense interest with staring at the floor._

"_Chii...was told once, a long time ago...that ears like Chii's are only on those of us who have full blood. Every now and then, a Chobit will leave the home and have a child with Chobit and human blood." Kurogane suddenly felt a wave of uneasiness at the way Chii had said the word 'human. _

_He watched as Chii lifted her head up and gave Kurogane one of the saddest looks Kurogane had ever seen._

"_When the part human Chobits, the new ones, first appeared in the world, many humans were scared by them. Like Chobits, the new ones can feel the 'heart'," she pointed at her chest, "and can remember all the things they see. But unlike Chobits, they can't protect themselves from the attacks...and you can't tell just by looking who are the new ones and who aren't." Seeing that Kurogane was still following (well he was trying to anyway) Chii continued._

"_So people used to attack those they thought were new ones. And most new ones couldn't live with the Chobits because they couldn't protect their minds from being seen and it scared them. Even now they can't. But now it doesn't matter anymore." Chii's voice suddenly lightened._

"_Because now almost nobody hates us anymore. And people don't mind-control anymore, because it's against the law." Chii paused then looked at Kurogane as if she was telling him something extremely important. "But... Fai still can't stop Chii from seeing when Fai is nearby. Normal people can't be seen, but since the new ones have Chobit code in their minds, the data that they normally in-code into their minds so that no one can read it, is made into transferable data that others with Chobit code can read and when a person is a new one, they don't have the natural protection data that firewalls one data bank from another and protects the data from being corrupted, corroded or deleted."_

_Chii gazed up as she realised Kurogane had been completely stumped. Chii shook her head in sympathy._

"_Chii doesn't really understand some of the words either...but when Fai met Chii, Chii knew everything Fai knew. Back then Fai was always scared. He's still scared a lot...but he sometimes smiles for real too so..."Chii looked at Kurogane hopefully. "Will Kurogane listen if Fai talks? Fai lies but at the same time he tells the truth. If Kurogane listens, Kurogane might understand. Chii can't really help because Chii already knows everything but not why. So can Chii trust Kurogane?"_

_Kurogane nodded slightly as Chii's hopeful eyes began to bore holes in his face. (Mentally. Not literally. That would be...weird.)_

_Unlike all of the crappy information he'd gotten off the mage earlier, this all seemed important somehow...especially the information about the lying.  
Sure, he couldn't understand most of what she was saying, and all that stuff about encoding and firewalls just made his head hurt, but knowing that the Chobit girl knew the mage lied was interesting. What she said about the mage telling 'the truth in his lies' was interesting as well._

_Kurogane groaned mentally. _

_**Just great. He was going to be stuck trying to figure this out for ages, wasn't he? And then it would all turn out that Tomoyo had just wanted something stupid like a lock of the mage's hair or to dress up the Chobit in one of her special hand-made outfits.**__ He growled at himself in annoyance._

_Maybe Tomoyo would do that... But there was also the fact that she had been dead-serious when she had made him promise to do all of this. Tomoyo __**never**__ joked about this sort of thing. He, of all people, knew that better than anyone._

_Kurogane scowled and shook his head. Ignoring Chii's bewildered stare, he stamped towards the direction the girl had said the idiot was in._

_**Stupid idiot...Where the hell was the guy anyway? With the amount of time they were taking, they may as well have just gone to the front entrance and waited for him there. **_

_Spotting a glint of gold in the distance, Kurogane sped up his pace. Behind him, Kurogane could hear the soft pattering of Chii's feet._

"_Oi! Idiot! It's closing time! Finish up everything now!" Kurogane shouted and watched as Fai put down whatever book he was reading and skipped towards them, that stupid grin still stuck in place like glue._

"_Awww! Kuro-rin came for me! I'm so happy I could just drop to the ground!"_

_Judging by how the twit was flailing around, Kurogane thought that it was definite possibility._

"_If you do, I'm not helping you up again." Seeing the look of disappointment on the mage's face, Kurogane suddenly felt the urge to laugh, but resisted it as much as he could. He glanced down as Fai slumped to his knees._

"_Kuro-wan is always so mean to me... Next he'll yell at me like it's all my fault for everything and will sulk just like the big puppy he is..." _

_Kurogane tried to ignore the small vein that was beginning to throb on the side of his head._

"_Well if we get locked in here, it will be your fault. It's already 6:20, and I don't know about you, but I'd rather not fall asleep in a place so full of dust."_

_Fai smirked; a look that for some reason right now made Kurogane want to punch the guy's face in._

"_It's all covered, Kuro-bonbon! I met the Librarian a little while ago, a lovely lady named Fuu, and she told me that she wouldn't lock the doors until we wanted to leave. She was wonderfully nice. She also mentioned that you come here often to borrow lots of books." Kurogane's face reddened as Fai flashed him the smile that just screamed 'I'm laughing at you'._

"_I was rather surprised to hear that big, bad Kuro-chi was so studious...but I was even more surprised when I found out how many of those books he was reading were comic books. I rather like this series here..." Kurogane froze as Fai pulled out a huge list from underneath his coat. "It's 'Tsukiyomi Moon Phase', isn't it? I read part of that series at a temple a while ago. I'm surprised that Kuro-sweet is into such cute romance stories, but with the way Kuro-nan is kind and soft-hearted in real life, I guess I should have expected it. Though the perverted jokes the author makes may be the real reason he reads it..."_

_Growling, Kurogane gave the mage a glare that would have sent most people frothing at the mouth with terror. But the mage being who he was and not like most people, was unaffected and simply smirked in triumph. He then glanced past Kurogane and froze._

"_Kuro-sama...Where's Chii?" Kurogane spun around as fast as he could without dislocating his legs. Behind him was nothing but an empty aisle._

_............._....

_Fai felt his blood freeze as Kurogane spun around and swore._

_**Chii was gone.**_

_Glancing over at Kurogane annoyed expression; Fai wished desperately that he could react like that. So unconcerned and calm. _

_Normally he wouldn't have been worried. Actually, in this sort of situation, he was rarely worried at all. But something felt off... Maybe he was just still jumpy after everything yesterday. Yeah...that had to be it..._

_Kurogane's icy calm voice cut Fai out of his panicked state. He glanced at the man's red eyes and felt himself relax slightly._

"_Mage. You said that you spoke with library lady earlier, right?" Fai was about to nod when he realised the ninja was thinking out loud. Something in the ninja's voice reminded Fai of a hissing snake. Or a dragon. Suddenly, he didn't feel relaxed at all._

"_You said she spoke with you...did she say she was going to say hi to the kid and me at any point?" _

_Fai nodded, his breath coming out in steam. He glanced around. __**When had the temperature dropped? Never mind...that didn't matter right now.**_

"_Yeah...she did. I told her you two were in the children's section. She said she was going to go right over there after she finished updating the stock list and she did that a while ago..." Fai's voice trailed off as Kurogane silently drew his sword out of its sheath, his red eyes fierce._

"_Make sure to stick behind me Mage. I don't like this at all. If worst come to worst, you're to save that little girlfriend of yours and run. My Hime charged me with your protection so if either of you get hurt, I'll have to explain to a very pissed-off princess why the hell I failed. And I really don't want to do that, understood?"_

_Fai blinked as the ninja unconsciously answered the question he'd been thinking in his head for hours. Kurogane, who had walked ahead, looked back at him and snarled._

"_Will you hurry up? There's something in here, I can't sense it properly, and if you don't hurry up then I'm going to leave you here!" Fai jumped as he scuttled forward._

_Once he reached the ninja's side, Fai clapped his hands together and winced slightly as he pulled his mage staff out of his palm. Seeing Kurogane's eyes widen, Fai nodded weakly and grinned._

"_Sorry Kuro-growl. I'm ready to fight now." _

_The ninja rolled his eyes before turning and flashing the mage a quick grin._

"_Good. A powerless mage is even worse than a dead weight. Just don't get in my way."_

_Fai nodded. If he had any choice in the matter, he wouldn't be anywhere near the action at all._

* * *

_Fai glanced around as the lights nearby began to dim._

_Diming lights, freezing air...there wasn't any question of who it was now. _

_Fai looked towards Kurogane for what felt like the millionth time and tried to calm his nerves __**again**__._

_It wasn't like he could help it; just being anywhere near where these people __**might**__ have been scared the crap out of him. Being in a place where they were still there was terrifying! Hopefully the ninja hadn't noticed how scared he was, but even if he did, most likely he'd just put it down to nerves._

_He glanced backwards as the lights finally gave out. Shadows obscured the ceiling and bookcases making Fai feel even more trapped._

_He shook his head again and tried to focus on the positive side of things._

_One up side was that this didn't seem to be the 'slaughter everyone in the village' type of attack. On the down side, what was going on?  
If it was a sneak raid, why hadn't a sleep spell been cast? Or had it been cast and somehow repelled?_

_He watched Kurogane for a few moments and smiled as a wave of 'pure' energy rolled off him._

_Of course... Kurogane was immune. If Kuro-puu had magical protection then this would make things a lot easier. Sure, he'd have to use a barrier or two if the enemy blasted at them but at least they would be safer from a mind attack._

_A sudden sharp pain spiked though Fai's head. Gasping, the mage shut his left eye and grabbed Kurogane on the shoulder._

"_They're up ahead...behind that door over there. They have a lot of magic operating and I think Chii's unconscious...I can feel her wavelength a little... Anyway, whatever it is that knocked her out is starting to affect me too, so you might not get as much help from me as you might like. Sorry."_

_Kurogane nodded and held his sword forward in a defensive pose. "You'd probably just get in the way anyway."_

_Fai tried to argue but flinched as the light-globe overhead exploded. Bits of stone and glass shattered downwards, and Fai winced as a sliver of glass sliced into his cheek._

_Then the wave of magic hit him. Fai's eyes widened as he felt the magic run through him._

"_Chii's magic..? But why!?" Ignoring Kurogane's shout of alarm, Fai lunged towards the door without a moment's hesitation._

That was definitely Chii's; that signature was undisguisable. But there was something so _**old**_ and so _**wrong**_about it now. What were those people doing to her?! _He bashed through the door with a tackle._

"_LET GO OF CHII RIGHT NOW!!!"_

_........._**....**

_Kurogane shoved the bookcase off his back; leapt to his feet and swore with the filthiest words known to man. _

_**That stupid mage! What kind of stupid numbskull runs headfirst into danger when the bodyguard he had fricking payed for was trapped under a bookcase!?!  
Odds were that the idiot hadn't even realised he'd left him behind. And where had that shockwave come from? There was no way that blast had been natural. **__Kurogane winced as his teeth continued to buzz with the vibration._

_He rushed into the cut-off room and ducked just a split second before blades of crystal thudded into the wall behind him. Rolling to the side, Kurogane glanced up and froze._

_A piercing rainbow light shone outwards from Chii's body as she hung suspended in the air. Two gigantic wings of glowing with that same rainbow colour sprouted out from the girl's back as Chii's amber eyes gazed blankly into space._

_Kurogane stared. __**What the heck..?**_

"Chii_.._!_" Kurogane flicked his eyes to the right to see that the mage had been pinned against a wall, a hand gripped tightly around his neck. _

_His captor, a dark puffy-haired woman, looked at him briefly then turned to look at her partner, a girl with short brown hair. The girl held a strange machine and was typing away at what looked like hundreds of buttons._

"_Yumi. Hurry up with the analysis of the subject, we don't have much time. Koryuu and I will deal with the unknown factor." Kurogane tensed. __**There were more of them?**_

_A small 'thump' behind him was the only warning he had. Stepping a pace forward then turning around as fast as his legs could carry him, Kurogane slashed his sword down towards his new opponent; but had to change target to slash apart a blast of fire magic sent from the woman in black.  
Momentarily distracted, Kurogane was then forced to leap to the side as long strangely-shaped blades lashed out towards his neck. A small trickle of blood began to trickle down Kurogane's forehead._

"_Wow! For a human he's rather fast. And he looks so rugged! Xing-y~ I wanna keep him! But I guess that's not really allowed, is it? Oh well." The attacker, a man with long black hair slumped back gloomily. _

_Koryuu (or at least, the person Kurogane assumed was called Koryuu) stood blocking the doorway. Thick black hair and flashy black clothes certainly made the guy an eye catcher, but what immediately drew Kurogane's eye was the two gigantic bat wings spouting from the man's back._

_**No bloody way...**_

_**A bloody $%#ING cursed one! One of those disgusting evil monsters like the one that attacked the country of Suwa and had left the ripped-apart corpses of its citizens to rot! If it hadn't been for Tomoyo being there back then; gripping the back of his shirt and begging for him to not to fight... he probably would have died too. **_

_The warrior gripped his sword so tightly it felt like his hand would bleed. _

_**No. He had to remain calm. Flying into a rage wouldn't help right now. This bloodsucker wasn't the one that had been there that day. He didn't have blue and yellow eyes. He wasn't the one who had killed them. He had to be calm.  
**_**Calm.**

_Releasing a breath he hadn't known he was holding, Kurogane opened his eyes and glanced towards the mage._

_There was no way he was going to be able to take out a cursed one and a sorceress at the same time. And judging by the way the mage was still pinned to the wall, the woman was probably a cursed one as well. Maybe if the mage caused a good enough distraction-_

"_No! You mustn't! Chii mustn't let anyone read it!" Chii's scream cut through the air. Long black wires flew out from the brown-haired girl's machine and stabbed into the young Chobit's back. Then something like lightening zapped though Chii's 'wings'. Kurogane tried not to stagger as a wave of magic power that even HE could feel shot through him._

"_CHII!!!" Shoving the black-haired woman back with a strength even Kurogane would have found hard to rival, Fai lunged towards Chii and gasped as the black-haired woman tackled him to the ground._

"_Let her go! It's me you're after, isn't it?! Chii has nothing to do with this so please!" Kurogane felt his blood run cold at the desperation in the mage's voice._

_**What did he mean 'after him'? Had he known this was going to happen?!**_

"_After you? Why would we be going after a little thing like you?" The male cursed-one gave Fai a pitying look before his eyes widened in recognition._

"_Oh, it's you! The little runaway who got away from the big bad tower! What a surprise seeing you here; we all thought you'd died! Won't Kyle-sensei be thrilled to hear you're still around~" Still smiling coyly, the creature walked over to the cornered mage and flicked him on the forehead._

"_Still, you're a lucky one. We aren't here for you this time. We're here for her over there." He gestured towards Chii with the flick of his wrist. "It's amazing just how much the higher ups wanted this little girl. Then again, since she's the one who currently holds the Tsubasa-"_

_Kurogane decided now was a good a time as any and lunged towards the Chobit, sword drawn. Glancing towards the cursed-one, he smirked._

_**Stupid. Forgetting about an enemy in mid-battle was a beginner's mistake.**_

_Ignoring the shouts of surprise and shock around him, Kurogane swung his sword directly towards the cables, and flinched as Ginryu smashed into them, creating a shower of sparks._

_Hearing a yelp from the mage, Kurogane turned to see Chii grab the wings floating out of her body and proceed to pull at them with all her might._

"_Please stop Chobit-san! If you that then-!" The brown-haired girl cut off her sentence with a shriek as Chii ripped the wings out of her back. Kurogane tried not to trip as the power that had been pushing him back for the last minutes suddenly vanished.  
Eyes dull again; the Chobit glanced blankly at Fai then threw the wings into the air._

_There were audible gasps from all as the wings flashed for a moment before fragmenting into pieces which shot through the roof and disappeared._

_Kurogane blinked as he realised a glowing feather was sitting his empty hand. He quickly slipped it into his shirt pocket before anyone spotted it._

"_DAMN IT! Xingy!" Koryuu flashed the black-haired woman a look of panic. "How are we going to explain this?! Our only task was to collect the data and-"_

"_This is fine, Koryuu." The black-haired woman pushed herself off the blonde mage and stood, her black boot on his back. She glanced towards the brown-haired woman, unfazed._

"_Yumi, how much data did you collect from the Tsubasa? Any information relevant to our requirements?"_

_Yumi shook her head. "I'm sorry Xing-Huo-sama... Most of the data was too encrypted for me to decode. If I had done it any faster, Chobit-san might have been suffered fatal damage... I found some data-logs but that was about it. Umm...what are we going to do with Chobit-san now? Can't we just let her go?"_

_Xing-Hou shook her head slowly and glanced towards Kurogane._

"_We cannot afford to waste such a valuable specimen. Koryuu will take her. I will deal with the interferences."_

_Kurogane snorted. "Deal with interferences? Try dealing with this, lady!" Before even finishing his sentence, Kurogane lunged and thrust Ginryu forward; a splatter of blood hit his face._

_Kurogane grinned. __**Now THAT was a good, clean strike.**_

"_XINGY!!!" "XING-HUO-SAMA!" The other two screamed as Xing-Huo staggered back._

_Withdrawing Ginryuu from the woman's chest, Kurogane shook his head and helped the still-stunned mage to his feet. Xing-Huo stared at them impassively as blood flooded out of her wound and began to form a large red puddle around her._

"_That was well timed. It is unfortunate but I cannot allow you to recover the Chobit. Be prepared." As the sorceress's hands began to glow with energy, Kurogane found his limbs pinned to his side then gasped as he was blasted backwards to smash into the wall._

_The warrior winced as his ribs snapped one by one. A loud 'popping' sound from his collarbone made his head spin as the power that had been constricting him began to pull away._

"_Kuro-tan?!" Concern on the mage's face quickly turned to anger as he glared at Xing-Huo._

"_Why did you do that?! I know how much power you have Xing-Huo! You could have just knocked him out! I won't forgive you for hurting Chii and Kuro-tan like this!" Kurogane's eyes widened as the mage literally began to glow with power._

_Instantly a flurry of wind blasted into the room. Kurogane winced as the last bits of the ceiling above them cracked into pieces and was soon caught up in the mini cyclone. __**Well, on the bright side, at least the repairmen won't have to worry about any cave-ins when they try to fix this place up. **_

_Feeling the air turn bitterly cold, Kurogane bit his lip and tried to pull himself off the ground until his head began to spin again. Biting back the nausea, he watched as the two mages battle._

_Wind filled with icicles as long as spears slammed against waves of flame that shot out of the woman's palms. As the ice melted Fai pulled his arms back, then with his staff glowing made a pushing motion. Instantly the ice expanded and became a flying torrent of water with crashed into the flames with a crackling hiss. _

_A flicker of emotion flashed over Xing-Huo's for a millisecond but disappeared before Kurogane could identify it. Chanting a spell under her breath and thrusting her hand forward, Xing-Hou winced as a ball of purple lightening was conjured and blasted forwards. Seeing his danger, the mage quickly froze the water around himself like a shield. Upon contact with the ice, the ball of lightening phased out of existence.  
Smirking, Fai laughed coldly for a moment then gave the sorceress a menacing look._

"_Give back Chii now or I'll use my magic to crush your skull, Xing-hou. I'm not playing around anymore."_

_Kurogane felt a chill run down his spine at the tone in the spell-caster's voice. It wasn't so much the fact he was willing to kill someone he seemed to know that got to Kurogane as much as the cold indifference in the mage's voice._

Damn. Even I'm not that cold.

_He glanced towards Xing-Hou and was unsurprised to see the woman unphased._

Well, if you aren't bothered by being stabbed in the chest then a simple threat of death isn't likely to upset you much either.

_Xing-Hou's eyes suddenly focused on a spot above the blonde's head. There was a sudden crackling sound and Fai looked up only just in time to be thrown back by a blast of black light. As he smashing into a nearby pile of rubble, Kurogane could nothing but watch as Xing-Hou's back glowed for a moment before two black leathery wings grew out of it._

"_Good bye, Fai. I suggest you leave here soon." The female Cursed-one then grabbed the brown haired girl and flew up. Koryuu who was holding Chii, grinned and followed as Xing-Hou flew out of sight._

_There was silence, then the mage staggered to his feet. And for only the second time in his entire life, Kurogane felt helpless as Fai let out a terrible pain-filled wail._

"_CHII!!!!"_

* * *

Bonus story:

_Mihara Kingdom, Central Tokyo Athena Palace_

_Tomoyo stood by the edge of the balcony, a strange look in her deep midnight-blue eyes. After a moment, her eyes closed and began to sing. Souma closed her own eyes and listened intently. _

_Unlike Tomoyo's usual singing, the hime's voice sounded uncharacteristically sad tonight. Part of that was due to the song's tune but somehow Souma felt worried._

_Finally as Tomoyo's voice trailed off slowly, the princess looked up at her over-protective ninja and smiled. _

_Souma frowned, as the smile, like the song, seemed sad._

_She sighed inwardly. She always felt so awkward at times like this. Even Kurogane was better in these kinds of these moments. It wasn't like she was trained in this.  
How could she help when even playing around with Ojiro-kun and Misaki-chi had failed to cheer her up? _

_Sure, she had been smiling the whole time they had been running around, but the minute the two children had left the room, Tomoyo's face had filled with the same level of gloom it was in now, and Souma had the intense sinking feeling that only a certain red-eyed ninja could dispel it._

"_Souma? Were you listening?" Souma nodded as Tomoyo smiled and glanced up at the sky. After a moment she glanced back. _

"_Did you like it?" _

_Souma nodded reluctantly. "I liked the tune. But it struck me as kind of sad. What is it? The song I mean? I've never heard lyrics like that before."_

"_A prayer. It's a type of song sung in a northern desert nation called 'Clow'. In that country a person sings a prayer to ensure that loved ones return home after battle or recover from what ails them." Tomoyo's hand trailed along the banister. "Though there are times that can be considered a selfish desire..."Tomoyo trailed off for a moment then looked up into Souma's eyes with a frightening intensity. _

"_Souma. Am I a selfish person?"_

_Souma blinked in surprise. Of all the things she thought Tomoyo-hime might say...that really hadn't been on the list. _

_Seeing Souma's confusion, Tomoyo sighed and reached a hand out to catch a falling snowflake. _

_**Wait?! Snowflakes? In this climate?**__ Souma's eyes widened as more snowflakes began to fall from the sky. Glancing back at Tomoyo, Souma's eyes widened as she realised Tomoyo's eyes were watery with tears. _

_Tomoyo turned and smiled at her, a true smile etched onto her face. _

"_Everything here right now is just like my dream. Even the snow and the balcony are the same. That means that all of those people will meet, and so many things are going to happen...Big things, little things..." _

_Tomoyo looked down sadly as the snowflake in her hand melted. _

"_I hope Kurogane keeps his promises. It's his decision in the end, but I still hope he does. I at least want to meet the shadow or the wing-collector... I want to meet all of them actually. But...that may not be possible..."_

_Souma stared as Tomoyo suddenly chuckled, her voice breaking the silence that had suddenly fallen around them._

"_I will just have to do everything I can. The same as I always do. If he decides not to return...I'll just wait for him anyway. The same way my Onee-san waits for her dear Souma to come home."_

_As Souma's face reddened, Tomoyo just smiled, turned back to the balcony and hummed, watching snow fall over a warm city._

_

* * *

_

_**Character list:**_

_**Chapter 5**_

_**Fuu: One of the three main girls in MagicKnightRayearth, Fuu is blonde, kind-hearted and very gentle towards others. Windam, the bird Kudan Fai uses in Tsubasa, is the wind god that is her partner. He he~ With that curled hair and those glasses, I couldn't help but make her a librarian~  
She, Hikaru and Umi **__**are**__** actually in Tsubasa, but only in chapters 222 and 223. Sorry I got the information with Umi wrong before; those chapters hadn't been released then. **_

_**Koryuu: A rather unknown character from a four book series CLAMP did called WISH. In it, Koryuu is the antagonist; a petty demon from the pits of hell, who shrinks into a chibi during the day before turning into his handsome human-sized self during the night. Despite being an 'evil demon', his constant badgering of the main character, the angel Kahaku, and his tendency to find almost all of the other characters (male and female) sexy, I honestly thought that Koryuu was one of the highlights of the series and ended up being my fav character in it. In this fic, Koryuu is a Cursed One, something which may be even worse than a demon. He never appears in Tsubasa.**_

_**Yumi Omura: Chii's main rival for Hideki's affections in Chobits, Yumi is a sweet-natured, brown haired girl with a severe inferiority complex when it comes to persocoms like Chii. Eventually falls for Ueda Heroyasu the baker (actually she fell for him ages ago and was trying to get over him) and is revealed to view Hideki as an older brother. In the fanfic, she is not a Cursed one though it seems she is with them willingly. Still retains her gentle nature but is much better with computers than she would normally be. Is never seen in Tsubasa.**_

_**World guide:**_

_**New Ones:**__** The name Chobit clansmen use for half Chobit-half normal human people. Rare, and lack the Chobit ears. Extremely vulnerable to mind control and able to hear any sort of telepathy used within a nearby area. Often mentally unstable and always completely unable to protect their thoughts or memories from being broadcasted to any pure blooded Chobits they talk to. **_

_**Pure Bloods**__**: A term used to refer to a non-human who has power and instincts as strong as his/her original ancestors'. Has little to do with a pure bloodline, though it must be noted that those with a pure bloodline are more likely to be Pure Blooded.**_

'_**Pure' Energy:**__** A rare type of natural magic that manifests only in people with strong wills. It's basically a natural resistance to any kind of magical attack that isn't physical (think Doumeki from xxxholic). This protection can extend to people in very close proximity to the one who has it. Also allows the owner to use 'blasts' of this energy to hurt non-physical creatures such as ghosts, as well as cut heavily armoured monsters from the inside out. Unfortunately it also blocks most healing magic as well as weaker protection spells. Very few who have this magic are ever aware they have it.**_

_**Cursed Ones:**__** Non-humans with amazing physical strength and brutal natures. Vampiric and able to use powerful abilities depending on the amount of blood they drink. Little else about them is commonly known. Basically seen as devils or demons.**_

_**Holy Ones: Heavenly non-humans with pure white bird wings said to protect the world from great misfortune. There are also legends that say drinking the blood of a Heavenly One will grant eternal life but to kill one will curse someone for all eternity. In the countries of Clow and Nihon there are records stating that like Cursed Ones, Heavenly Ones have been known to drink human blood, however, in their case the victim almost always dies. Viewed as powerful, vengeful angels. **_

_**(The information presented on both Cursed and Heavenly ones is only what the main characters would have heard or read about. It's not 100% accurate.) **_

_**Countries/Cities:**__** Clover: A small town on the western border of Nihon. Commonly used as a pit stop for weary travellers. Where Sakura, Mokona and Syaoran are while having drinks.**_

_**Tokyo: Capital of Mihara. Has highly advanced technology but the castle is a European-style relic dating back centuries. Has a very warm climate. The castle is said to be protected by Holy Ones.**_

_**Clow: An ancient Kingdom to the far north-east that is identical to Clow country in Tsubasa. Because it surrounded by a barren desert filled with monsters, it is very rare for anyone to travel to or from it. Is known for its kind-hearted population and unique customs. It's said that anyone who has Clowrian ancestors will have abnormally powerful healing magic.**_

_**Fe'ore: A country to the West covered in snow and ice. Not many people live there, but most are mages and scholars devoted to research. Has many public libraries dotted around the place. Many unique plants grow there. Has no acting government or monarchy.**_


End file.
